e  otM  aifl  iht  Went. 

9  (^       ^ 


PHILADELPHIA. 


PRINTED  BY  JAMES  B.  CHANDLER,  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


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The  Cliiircli  Uuilding,  comer  T^v-ellty-lirst  and  Walnut  wtreets. 


The  Old  and  the  New. 


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1743-1876. 


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OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


Its  beginning  and  Increase. 


BY 


E.  R.  Beadle,  P 


E/DLE,  r/STO[|^, 
1876.- 


A 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

T  a  DiectiJig  of  the  Ladies'  Association  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  CJunxJiy  held  at  the  Chapel,  jfanuary 
loth,  iSyy,  tJie  folloiving  Resolutions  were  adopted : — 


Whereas: — The  congregation  having  listened  with  great  interest  to  the  able 
and  instructive  historical  discourses  delivered  by  our  Pastor,  ajid  knowing  that 
there  is  a  strotig  desire  to  possess  the  safue  in  a  permanent  form,  not  only  by 
the  ?/iembers  of  our  own  congregation,  but  also  by  ?nany  others  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  subject :    Therefore : — 

Resolved:  —  That  otir  Pastor  be  requested  to  allow  this  Society  the 
privilege  of  publishing  the  same,  and  that  a  printed  copy  be  presented  to 
the  Historical  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  conformity  with  a  Reso- 
lution of  the  General  Assembly. 

Resolved: — That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  luait  upon  our  Pastor  with 
a  copy  of  these  Pesolutions. 

HARRIET   W.   IIODGE, 

President. 

SARAH   P.  SMITH, 

Secretary. 
January  ioth,  1877. 


Committee  appointed :  —  Mrs.  J.  E.  Graeff,  Mrs.  Horace  Titkin,  Mrs. 

F.    W.    HUIUJELL. 

212  South  Eighth  street, 

yatiuary  ijth,  iSyy. 
Miss  SARAH  P.  SMITH, 

Secretary  Ladies^  Association  : — 

It  gives  nie  great  pleasure 
to  comply  until  the  request  of  the  Ladies'  Association. 

E.  R.  BEADLE. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Sermon,  No.  I, 

Sermon,  No.  II,  . 

Sermon,  No.  Ill, 

Sermon,  No.  IV, 

Description  of  Church,  Twenty-first  and  Walnut 
STREETS, 

Appendix,  ......... 


PAGE. 
46 

93 

118 
123 


fi^%. 


^C^ 


O  TAND  ye  in  the  ways,  and  see,  and  ask  for 
''the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way,  and 
*'  walk   therein,    and  ye    shall  find  rest  for  your 
''souls.'' — Jeremiah  vi. :  i6. 


TO    THE 


OFFICERS,  MEMBERS  AND  FRIENDS 


OF   THE 


ECOND  Presbyterian  Shurch, 


IN 


PHILADELPHIA. 


''Think  on  these  things" 


B 


-/r?^^^  the  third  day  of  December,  1876,  the 
Q^^<§)  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia 
was  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  years  old.  Its 
birth-day  was  celebrated  by  the  commencement  of 
these  Sermons,  which  briefly  tell  the  story  of  its  life 
and  work.  The  story  passes  to  record,  to  embalm 
the  memory  of  the  mighty  dead,  and  to  give  knowl- 
edge and  cheer  to  those  who  shall  in  after  times. 
Inherit  the  trusts  and  bear  the  ark  in  this  old  and 
honored  Church  of  Christ. 


I. 


J"ol3  viii. :   r,  8,  lO. 


"  Though  thy  beginning  7uas  small^  yet  thy  latter  end  should  gi'eatly  increase. 
"  For  inquire,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  former  age,  and  prepare  thyself  to  the  search 
*''  of  their  fathers  :  Shall  they  not  teach  thee,  and  tell  thee,  and  utter  words  out 
''  of  their  heart?'' 


V^4|(V^HE  roots  of  things  lie  far  out  of  sight.  Causes  may 
(^"^"^j^  be  very  remote,  and  great  results  flow  from  small 
beginnings.  The  mightiest  rivers  of  our  globe  find 
their  source  in  basins  that  an  ox  might  exhaust,  or  springs 
that  the  careless  eye  would  not  detect.  In  these  words  we 
have  an  expression  of  a  common  sentiment  and  fact :  —  that 
small  beginnings  often  have  large  increase  and  issue  in  pro- 
found and  wide-spread  results.  This  is  eminently  true  of 
sound  principles  and  enterprises  based  upon  benevolence  and 
truth.  Abraham  entered  Canaan  with  staff  in  hand,  but  his 
seed  became  as  the  sand  of  the  sea  shore  for  multitude.     The 


14  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

pilgrims  were  brought  to  this  continent  in  a  single  ship,  but 
the  navies  of  the  world  could  not  transport  their  descendants. 

The  mystic  seed  of  truth  may  be  small  as  a  mustard 
seed,  but,  like  it,  will  grow  into  trees  in  whose  branches  the 
birds  of  heaven  may  light,  or  make  forests  from  which  cities 
shall  be  built.  Cities  rise  and  spread  from  the  Indian's  wig- 
wam or  the  hunter's  cabin.  Churches  grow  from  prayer 
meetings  in  a  private  house,  or  mission  schools  in  a  neglected 
neighborhood.  The  most  powerful  organizations  have  their 
infancy  and  growth.  The  beginning  of  the  Second  Church 
hes  far  back,  and  for  its  real  origin  we  must  inquire  of  the 
former  age,  and  search  among  the  fathers.  The  organized 
church  life  began  in  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-three,  but 
the  causes  which  resulted  in  its  organization  must  be  sought 
still  farther  away. 

In  1735  a  young  man,  born  in  Gloucester,  England,  was 
found  at  Oxford,  in  close  fellowship  and  earnest  labors  with 
the  two  Wesleys.  These  godly  men  were  much  in  prayer 
together,  and  instant  in  evangelistic  labors.  They  were  ex- 
ceptional men,  and  peculiar  in  their  earnest  zeal  to  awaken 
a  deeper  religious  interest  in  the  community,  and  to  win 
souls  for  Christ.  The  Wesleys,  while  doing  a  great  work 
in  England,  became  also  greatly  interested  in  the  American 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  I  5 

Colonies,  and  both  crossed  the  ocean  to  preach  the  gospel  In 
the  new  settlements. 

Whitefield,  for  the  time,  chose  to  remain  in  England,  and 
was  ordained  by  Bishop  Benson  in  the  Cathedral  at  Gloucester, 
June  20th,  1736,  on  which  day  he  preached  his  first  sermon  at 
twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  soon  found  his  way  to  London, 
and  two  months  from  the  time  of  his  ordination  preached  his 
first  sermon  in  the  metropolis  in  Bishopsgate  Church.  On  en- 
tering the  pulpit  the  people  smiled  at  his  youthful  appearance, 
and  the  common  feeling  seemed  to  be  that  the  lad  was  much 
out  of  place ;  but,  as  he  proceeded  in  the  sermon,  the  feeling 
changed,  and  people  wondered,  and  asked  who  he  was,  and 
whence  he  came.  As  he  came  down  he  was  greeted  on  every 
side,  and  invited  to  preach  in  other  churches  in  the  City.  He 
accepted  invitations,  and  preached  in  many  places.  A  pro- 
found interest  was  awakened  among  all  classes.  Noble  fam- 
"  ilies  attended,  and  followed  him  from  church  to  church  ;  the 
streets  were  crowded  which  led  to  the  churches  where  he  was 
^  announced,  and  no  house  was  large  enough  to  hold  the  mul- 
titudes which  thronged  to  hear  him. 

In  the  meantime  the  Wesleys  were  writing  from  Georgia, 
and  urging  him  to  sail  for  the  new  world.  One  of  these 
urgent  letters  found  him  preaching  to  an  illiterate  people  in 


i6  1743- — THE  OLD  and  the  new. — 1876. 


Hampshire.  It  was  a  stirring  appeal  for  immediate  departure 
for  America,  with  promise  of  "food  and  raiment,  a  house  to 
"  lay  his  head  in,  and  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away." 
"  Upon  reading  this  (Whitefield  says)  my  heart  leaped  within 
"  me,  as  it  were,  and  echoed  to  the  call." 

He  soon  sailed  for  Georgia,  and  landed  at  Savannah,  where 
he  at  once  began  his  favorite  work.  It  was  found  advisable 
that  he  should  be  ordained  as  a  priest,  and  for  this  he  re- 
turned to  England,  and  took  orders  at  Oxford,  January,  1739. 
In  August  following  he  was  again  on  his  way  to  America. 

He  landed  this  time  at  Philadelphia,  and  began  to  preach 
at  once.  No  church  then  built  could  hold  the  crowds  which 
pressed  to  hear  him,  and,  had  they  been  large  enough,  none 
were  open  to  him.  His  fame  as  a  new  light  minister  and  a 
field  preacher  had  crossed  the  ocean  before  him,  and  both 
churches   and  preachers   were   afraid   to   give   him  welcome. 

But  houses  in  which  to  preach  were  not  necessary.  The 
old  Court  House  standing  on  the  corner  of  Second  and  Market 
streets  had  both  steps  and  balcony,  and  these  were  his  favorite 
preaching  places.  To  this  corner  the  crowds  found  their  way, 
and  often  filled  the  street  from  the  Court  House  to  the  Dela- 
ware. Franklin  says: — "The  multitudes  of  all  sects  and 
"denominations  that  attended  his  sermons  were  enormous." 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  1/ 

Still  another  preaching  place  was  on  Society  Hill,  between 
Spruce  and  Pine,  Second  and  Front  streets.  Here  he  took 
his  stand  by  the  flagstaff,  and  preached  to  fifteen  thousand 
people.  He  preached  often  twice,  and  sometimes  three  times 
in  a  day,  and  on  Sabbaths  four  times. 

James  Pemberton,  a  friend,  writes  :  — 

"Eleventh  of  9th  month,  1739.  He  preaches  every  day. 
Some  of  our  curious  youths  of  rash  judgment,  who  look 
at  words  more  than  substance,  are  very  constant  in  attend- 
ance and  much  pleased.  He  preached  three  nights  succes- 
sively upon  our  Court  House  steps,  on  Second  street,  where 
he  exceedingly  takes  with  the  people.  Last  night  he  had 
the  greatest  multitude  I  ever  saw,  and  some  accident  hap- 
pened which  greatly  frightened  many.  Some  thought  it  was 
an  earthquake ;  others  that  it  was  fire,  and  others  that  the 
Spaniards  were  come.  Many  were  hurt  by  falling,  and 
being  trodden  upon;  many  lost  their  hats,  cloaks,  etc.  The 
preacher  had  to  leave  off  speaking  till  they  recovered  their 
senses,  which  some  did  and  others  did  not.  His  intentions 
are  good,  but.  he  has  not  arrived  at  such  perfection  as  to  see 
as  far  as  he  yet  may." 


1 8  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

James  Logan,  at  a  later  date,  says  :  — 

"  None  can  be  long  a  stranger  to  George  Whitefield.  All  I 
"  have  to  say  of  him  is,  that  by  good  language,  a  better  utter- 
"  ance,  an  engaging  manner,  and  a  powerful  voice,  he  gained 
"  much  at  first  on  most  sorts  of  people.  He  gained  so  much 
*'  on  the  multitude  that  they  have  begun  for  him  a  great  brick 
''  building  in  which,  though  not  covered,  he  preached  a  great 
"  many  times."  *  "  It  must  be  confessed  his  preaching  has 
"a  good  effect  in  reclaiming  many  dissolute  people,  but  from 
"  his  countenancing  so  very  much  the  most  hot-headed  pre- 
**  destinarians,  and  those  of  them,  principally,  who  had  been 
"accounted  by  the  more  sober  as  little  better  than  madmen, 
"  he  and  they  have  actually  driven  divers  into  despair,  and 
*'  some  into  perfect  madness.  In  short,  it  is  apprehended  by 
"  the  more  judicious  that  the  whole  will  end  in  confusion,  to 
"  the  great  prejudice  of  the  cause  of  virtue  and  solid  religion  ; 
"  his  doctrine  turning  on  the  danger  of  good  works  without 
"  such  a  degree  of  sanctifying  faith  as  comes  up  to  his 
"  gauge." 

The  effects  of  his  preaching  were  seen  not  only  (as  friend 
Logan  says)  '*  in  reclaiming  many  dissolute  people,"  but  the 
whole  tone  of  society  was  changed. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  1 9 


Franklin  says  :  — 

"  It  was  wonderful  to  see  the  change  soon  made  in  the 
"  manners  of  our  inhabitants.  From  being  thoughtless  and 
"  indifferent  about  religion  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  world  was 
*'  growing  religious  ;  so  that  one  could  not  walk  through  the 
**  town  in  an  evening  without  hearing  psalms  sung  in  different 
''families  in  every  street." 

Public  amusements  were  repressed ;  the  dancing  school 
was  discontinued ;  the  ball  and  concert  room  shut  up,  and 
when  some  gay  and  spirited  young  men  broke  open  the 
room,  and  announced  a  ball,  there  was  not  a  single  per- 
son who  would  attend.  Significant  notices  are  scattered 
through  the  accounts  of  the  times.  "  Religious  conversation 
"became    general."       "Religious    books    only   would    sell." 

.    Whitefield  himself  says  of  these  remarkable  preaching  sea- 
sons :  — 

"  Many  people  and  many  ministers  weep.  My  own  soul 
"  is  much  carried  out.  I  preached  to  a  vast  assembly  of 
"  sinners  ;  nearly  twelve  thousand  were  collected,  and  I  had 
"  not  spoken  long  before  I  perceived  numbers  melting.  As  I 
"  proceeded   the  power  increased,   and   thousands  cried  out. 


20  1743- THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1  8/6. 

"  Never  before  did  I  see  such  a  glorious  sight.  Oh  !  what 
"  strong  crying  and  tears  were  poured  forth  after  the  dear 
'*  Lord  Jesus." 

Not  only  was  this  powerful  influence  felt  among  the  crowds 
gathered  in  the  streets,  but  multitudes  sat  in  boats  on  the 
river,  and  felt  the  power  of  his  searching  appeals.  When 
preaching  at  Society  Hill  he  was  heard  to  utter  the  gospel 
call  at  Gloucester,  two  miles  away.  Some  persons  came 
twenty  miles  on  foot  to  hear  him,  and  one  memorable  case  of 
conversion  took  place  of  a  lady  who  had  made  such  a  jour- 
ney. 

When  preaching  once  on  the  Court  House  steps,  a  lad  who 
held  the  lantern  was  so  overcome  that  he  let  the  lantern  fall, 
and  this  probably  caused  the  confusion  of  which  friend  Pem- 
berton  speaks.  It  was  John  Rogers,  who  became  a  Presby- 
terian minister,  and  was  Moderator  of  the  First  General 
Assembly  in  America,  at  its  first  meeting,  held  in  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  Third  and  Arch  streets. 

The  religious  interest  excited  by  the  preaching  of  Whitefield 
continued  for  a  long  time  though  he  did  not  remain  long  in 
Philadelphia.  His  destination  was  Georgia,  and  when  he  left 
the  City  one  hundred  and  fifty  gentlemen  accompanied  him  to 
Chester,  where  he  preached  to  thousands  who  gathered  at  his 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  21 

coming.  At  White  Clay  Creek  he  preached  to  eight  thou- 
sand people,  of  whom  nearly  three  thousand  were  on 
horseback. 

In  1740  Whitefield  was  again  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  mean- 
time Gilbert  Tennent  appeared  upon  the  stage.  Full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith,  this  eminent  preacher  and  successful 
winner  of  souls  carried  forward  the  work.  They  now,  for  a 
time,  labored  together  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  gathering 
multitudes  as  reapers  sweep  down  the  harvest  ripe  for  the 
sickle.  When  Whitefield  was  called  again  to  leave  Philadel- 
phia he  committed  the  work  to  Tennent's  hands. 

At  this  time  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  (now  worship- 
ping on  Washington  square)  was  in  existence,  and  occupied  a 
house  on  High  street  (now  Market),  built  in  1704.  Of  this 
congregation  it  is  said  :  — 

"  They  continued  in  peace  and  increase  until  the  time  of 

'*  the  Rev;  George  Whitefield,  when  a  party  drew  off  under 

'-    ''the  name  of  *  new  lights.' "     It  is  probable  that  from   the 

^  many  converts  some  connected  themselves  with  that  congre- 

.•    gation,  and  also  with  churches  of  other  denominations  in  the 

City ;  but  converts  were  so  multiplied  that  a  new  organization 

became  a  necessity,  and  in  December,  1743,  one  hundred  and 

forty  persons,  after  most  careful  examination,  made  a  public 


22  1743- — THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 876. 


profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  were  organized  as  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia. 

The  original  Charter  granted  to  this  church  is  in  existence, 
and  its  closing  sentences  are  these  :  — 

"  Thomas  Penn  and  John  Penn,  true  and  absolute  proprietaries  of  the  Pro- 
"  vince  of  Pennsylvania  and  Counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  on 
"  Delaware,  to  all  persons  to  whojn  these  presents  may  come.  Greeting  : — 


"  Wherefore  they  have  prayed  us  to  incorporate  the  committee  of  said  church, 
"  by  the  name  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  City  of 
"  Philadelphia,  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania;  and  that  they  and  their  suc- 
"  cessors,  by  such  name,  may  be  erected  and  constituted  a  body  politic  and 
"  corporate,  and  have  perpetual  succession.  Now  know  ye,  that  we,  favoring  the 
"prayer  and  application  of  the  said  elders,  deacons,  and  members,  and  willing 
*'  as  much  as  in  us  lies  to  encourage  virtue,  piety,  and  charity,  and  for  other 
"  good  causes  and  considerations  us  thereto  specially  moving,  have  nominated, 
**  ordained  and  appointed  Samuel  Smith,  Andrew  Hodge,  John  Redman,  Hugh 
*'  McCulloch,  William  Shippen,  sr.,  William  Heniy,  William  Shippen,  jr.,  Nathan 
"  Cooke,  Gunning  Bedford,  John  Bayard,  Jedediah  Snowden,  Joseph  Reed, 
"  William  Hollingshead,  William  Carson,  John  Hall,  William  Bradford,  Robert 
"  Harris,  John  Rhea,  Isaac  Snowden,  Jonathan  B.  Smith,  Benjamin  Armitage, 
"William  Drury,  Benjamin  Harbison,  and  David  Chambers,  to  be  the  first 
"  Trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia." 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 18/6.         23 

Gilbert  Tennent  was  chosen  the  first  pastor.  He  did  not 
at  once  accept  the  call.  In  the  meantime,  Dr.  Finley,  from 
Princeton  College,  supplied  the  congregation.  Before  enter- 
ing upon  his  labors  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Church,  Tennent 
made  a  tour  through  New  England,  preaching  by  the  way, 
and  principally  in  the  larger  towns.  He  preached  many 
times,  and  with  great  success,  in  Boston.  It  was  a  winter  of 
extreme  cold,  so  intense  that  Long  Island  Sound  was  frozen 
over.  Like  Whitefield,  he  had  a  powerful  voice,  and  preached 
with  great  earnestness.      Great  multitudes   were   converted. 

Dr.  Cutler,  of  Boston,  says :  — 

"  Gilbert  Tennent  afflicted  us  more  than  the  intense  cold 

"  and  snow."     "  While  Whitefield  was  here  the  town  was,  as 

*'  it  were,  in  a  sieg-e.     The  streets  were  crowded  with  coaches 

''and  chaises.     He  lashed  and  anathematized  the  Church  of 

''  England;     After  him  came  one  Tennent,  a  minister,  impu- 

\    ''  dent  and  saucy,  and  told  them  they  were  damned.     This 

^"charmed  them,  and  in. the  dreadfullest  winter  I  ever  saw, 

^.    *'  people  wallowed  in  the  snow,  day  and  night,  for  the  benefit 

"  of  his  beastly  brayings." 

At  New  Haven,  Tennent  preached  to  a  great  crowd.     A 
young  man,  who  was  a  student  in  Yale  College,  heard  him,  and 


24 


1743- THE   OLD    AND    THE   NEW. 1  8/6. 


was  converted.     It  was  James  Sproat,  who  became  afterwards 
the  third  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 

When  Tennent  returned  from  New  England  he  entered  upon 
his  pastoral  work.  He  lived  at  that  time  at  Bedminster,  *'  a 
**  neat  country  place,  having  a  fine  collection  of  fruit  trees."  It 
was  out  of  town,  and  advertised  as  a  "very  rural  and  agree- 
*' able  place."  It  was  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Wood 
streets.  Tennent  commenced  his  work  with  great  zeal  and 
earnestness,  and  was  instant  in  labors.  He  preached  often, 
and  visited  almost  daily  from  house  to  house.  So  many 
distressed  souls  were  to  be  seen  that  his  feet  were  actually 

^  blistered  in  his  constant 
walking  from  place  to 
place. 

The  ''large  brick  buil- 
ding," which  the  multi- 
tude had  begun  for 
Whitefield,  was  finish- 
ed by  subscription. 
It  was  called  **the  new 
building,"  and  after- 
wards the  "Old  Acade- 
my,"    and     stood     in 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  2$ 

Fourth  street,  below  Arch.  It  was  'Marge"  for  those 
times,  and  presented  a  modest,  church-like  appearance.  We 
reproduce  it  on  the  opposite  page  :  — 

The  conditions  upon  which  the  subscriptions  were  given 
were,  that  the  building  should  be  for  the  "  free  use  of  itinerant 
"  preachers  forever,  as  well  as  for  the  promulgation  of  the 
*'  peculiar   tenets   and   religious    views    called    '  new   light.' " 

Peter  Kalm,  a  Swede,  who  traveled  in  America  in  175 1, 
says  of  these  peoples  and  their  tenets  :  — 

"  By  the  name  of  New  Lights,  are  understood  the  people  who  have,  from 
**  different  religions,  became  proselytes  to  the  well  known  Whitefield.  *  *  -^ 
"  The  proselytes  of  this  man,  or  the  "  New  Lights,"  are  at  present  merely  a  sect 
"  of  Presbyterians ;  for,  though  Whitefield  was  originally  a  clergyman  of  the 
*'  English  Chuixh,  yet  he  deviated  little  by  little  from  her  doctrines,  and  on 
"arriving,  in  the  year  1744,  at  Boston,  New  England,  he  disputed  with  the 
*'  Presbyterians  about  their  doctrines  so  much  that  he  almost  entirely  embraced 
"  them ;  for  Whitefield  was  no  great  disputant,  and  could  therefore  be  easily  led 
"by  these  cunning  people  whithersoever  they  would  have  him.  This,  also, 
*'  during  his  latter  stay  in  America,  caused  his  audiences  to  be  less  numerous 
"than  during  the  first.  The  New  Lights  built  first,  in  the  year  1741,  a  great 
"  house  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  to  hold  divine  service  in.  But  a  division 
"  arising  amongst  them  afterwards,  and  besides  on  other  accounts,  the  building 
"was  sold  to  the  town  in  1749  or  '50,  and  destined  for  a  school.  The  New 
"  Lights  then  built  a  church,  which  I  call  the  new  Prcsliytcrian  one." 


26  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. I  876. 

In  1753  the  **01d  Academy"  was  made  the  College  of 
Philadelphia  ;  in  1779  it  became  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  1875  was  reproduced  in  somewhat  enlarged 
dimensions  and  more  elaborate  structure  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Schuylkill,  at  the  corner  of  Locust  and  Thirty-sixth 
streets. 

In  this  "new  building"  the  Second  Church  worshipped  for 
nine  years  (1741  — 1750).  In  1749,  the  building  having  been 
purchased  for  the  first  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  notice  was 
given  to  the  congregation  that  they  must  procure  some  other 
place  of  worship,  and  that  they  could  have  three  years  to 
secure  a  suitable  site.  A  strong  committee  was  appointed  to 
find  a  proper  location.  After  much  search  and  some  delay, 
the  lot  on  the  north-west  corner  of  Third  and  Arch  streets 
was  fixed  upon,  and  purchased.  On  this  lot  a  house  was 
built.  It  stood  eighty  feet  on  Arch  street,  and  sixty  feet  on 
Third  street.  It  was  built  of  brick,  and  a  wooden  steeple 
was  afterwards  put  up  on  the  west  end,  and  paid  for  by  a 
lottery.  This  wooden  steeple  was  the  cause  of  much  gossip 
and  some  unpleasant  feeling.  There  was  but  one  other  in  the 
City,  and  the  chronicler  says  :  — 

"The  Episcopalians  having  no  mind  to  see  their  architectural 
beauties  rivaled,  expressed  their  sentiments  in  these  lines  :" — 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  2/ 

*'  The  Presbyterians  built  a  church, 
And  fain  would  build  a  steeple  : 
We  think  it  may  become  the  church, 
But  not  become  the  people," 

The  steeple  was  afterwards  taken  down,  not  because  unbe- 
coming either  to  church  or  people,  but  because  it  was  thought 
to  be  unsafe.  The  front  entrance  to  the  building  was  on 
Third  street,  and  the  pulpit  was  placed  on  the  north  side. 
Over  it  hung  a  large  sounding-board,  suspended  in  such  a 
way  as  to  cause  some  anxiety  among  the  younger  worshippers 
lest  it  should  fall  on  the  preacher's  head.  Below  the  pulpit, 
and  directly  in  front,  was  a  reading  desk  for  the  precentor,  or 
as  he  was  then  called,  ''the  setter  of  tunes."  Mr.  Joseph 
Eastburn  performed  this  duty  with  great  earnestness  and  zeal, 
and  for  a  long  time  with  great  acceptance.  He  was  after- 
wards ordained  as  an  evangelist,  and  ministered  to  the  first 
church  for  seamen  established  in  Philadelphia,  and  perhaps  in 

.•  the  country.  An  aisle  ran  through  the  middle  of  the  church 
'  from  east  to  west,  and  another  from  north  to  south,  paved 

■.•  with  brick,  in  which  were  placed  slabs  to  commemorate  the 
dead  who  were  buried  underneath.  The  pews  were  square 
and  high,  painted  white,  and  mounted  with  a  mahogany  rail. 
One  pew  was  set  aside  as  the  President's  or  the  Governor's 


28  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 


pew.     It  was  surmounted  by  a  canopy,  supported  by  carved 
columns. 

Provisions  were  also  made  for  the  Members  of  Congress, 
as  the  following,  from  John  Adams,  the  second  President  of 
the  United  States,  pleasantly  acknowledges  :  — 

*'  Philadelphia,  Jajinary  j,  ijgf. 
"Sir: 

"  I  received  this  morning  the  letter  you  did  me  the  honor  to  write  me, 
"  communicating  the  resolution  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Arch 
"  street,  of  the  29th  ultimo,  appropriating  the  large  pew  fronting  the  pulpit,  and 
"  the  two  pews  adjoining  it,  for  the  use  of  the  Vice-President  of  the  United 
*'  States,  and  such  Members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  as  chose,  during  their 
**  sessions,  to  worship  in  that  church,  and  immediately  communicated  it  and  the 
"  resolution  enclosed  in  it  by  reading  both  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
*'  Permit  me,  Sir,  to  express  to  you  and  to  the  Corporation  my  thanks  for  obliging 
"  mark  of  their  respectful  attention  to 

"  Your  and  their  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  ADAMS. 

"Mr.  JOHN  REDMAN, 

**  President  of  the  Corporation  of  the  Second 
"  Presbyterian  Church  in  Arch  street.^'' 

Under  the  singer's  gallery  was  hung  a  glass  chandelier 
(now  in  the  possession  of  this  church),  which  was  purchased 
from    the    effects    of    Washington    when    he    removed    from 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.      '  3  I 

Philadelphia.  This  chandelier  became  an  object  of  much 
interest,  and  in  Peter  Lesley's  time  it  is  said  :  — 

"  People  worshipping  there  often  stopped  to  see  it,  and  he 
"  had  much  trouble  to  keep  them  from  taking  off  the  drops 
"  to  carry  away  as  mementos." 

No  provisions  were  made  for  the  comfortable  heating  of  the 
church,  and  ladies  "were  in  the  habit  of  having  foot-stoves 
"  brought  to  keep  their  feet  warm." 

Mr.  Samuel  Hazard  says  :  — 

"  I  have  frequently  carried  one  of  these  to  church  for  my 
**  mother;"  and  he  describes  them  as '' small  square  boxes, 
**  made  of  wood  and  tin,  perforated  with  holes,  in  which  was 
"placed  a  small  vessel  containing  hot  coals." 

Hot  bricks,  also,  wrapped  in  carpeting,  were  brought  for 
the  comfort  of  hands  or  feet  in  the  cold  season. 

The  church  was  lighted  by  candles  in  the  chandelier,  and 
in  sconces  placed  along  the  wall.  The  exterior  of  the  build- 
ing was  rough-cast,  and  had  a  "  long,  narrow,  barn-like 
appearance,  without  any  architectural  beauty."  We  present 
it  here  as  it  appeared  with  the  steeple.* 

This  building  suffered  much  during  the  occupancy  of  the 

*  See  page  29. 


32  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

British  in  1778.  The  pews  and  woodwork  were  destroyed, 
and  the  fence  around  the  church  removed.  A  large  brass 
chandeher,  or  *' branch,"  as  it  was  called,  which  had  been  im- 
ported from  England,  was  taken  away,  and  sold  in  New  York. 
It  was  afterwards  recovered  from  the  purchaser. 

An  old  bill  for  dama2:es  has  been  found.     The  vouchers 
have  disappeared. 


■■fc*' 


"  The  following  are  the  sums  paid  to  repair  damages  done  the  Second  Presby- 
"terian  Church,  and  the  cost  of  some  things  destroyed  in  1778,  when  the  British 
*'  army  lay  in  Philadelphia :  — 

£  s.    d. 

*'  Paid  removing  the  pews, 22  2     6 

"1778,  Dec.   19th.  —  Repairs,  ;^229  os.  3^.,  (Exchange,  six  for 

"  one,) 38  3     4^ 

"1779,  April   1st.  —  For  do.   paid,   ^^^442    17^.    6d.,   (Exchange, 

**  seventeen  for  one,) 26  i     o^ 

*'  1779,  March  25th.  —  Do.  paid,  ^{^343  7^-.  gd.,  (at  ten  for  one,)  .       34  7     9 

"  Paid  fencing  in  the  grave  yard, 7  5   10^ 

"  Cost  of  the  chandelier  destroyed, 74  9     o 

;^202     9      7 

"  We  do  certify  the  above  account  of  damages  and  repairs,  as  above  stated,  is 
"  just  and  true  as  stated,  and  are  supported  by  the  inclosed  vouchers. 

"JOHN  STILLE, 
''April 30,  I'jSj:'  "PAINE  NEWMAN." 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  33 

As  the  location  at  Third  and  Arch  streets  was  in  the  busy 
part  of  the  town,  the  passage  of  vehicles  much  disturbed  the 
congregation  in  their  worship,  and  a  memorial  was  presented 
to  the  City  authorities,  praying  for  relief  The  memorial  is 
as  follows :  — 

**  To  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Conntion  Council  of  Philadelphia,  the  Metn- 
"  orial  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  said  City, 
"  respectfully  showeth  :  — 

"  That  your  memorialists  are  very  much  disturbed  in  their  public  worship  on 
*'  the  Sabbath,  by  the  frequent  passing  and  re-passing  of  carriages  during  the 
"time  of  divine  service;  and  they  therefore  pray  that  they  may  be  permitted  to 
"  fix  chains  at  the  corner  of  Mulberry  and  Third  streets,  on  the  Sabbath,  for  so 
"  long  time  as  may  be  necessary  to  prevent  similar  interruptions  in  future. 

"  And  your  memorialists,  etc. 

^^  August  6,  lygS'"" 

The  request  was  not  granted,  but  the  Legislature  passed  a 
law  authorizing  the   use   of  chains,   and   on   every   Sabbath 
■  morning,  when  the  service  began,  the  sexton  stretched  the 
chains  across  both  Arch  and  Third  streets.    This  plan  stopped 
-•  the  passage  of  vehicles  to  and  fro,  and  prevented  the  disturb- 
ance of  the  worship,  but  did  not  work  altogether  satisfactorily. 
"    Horsemen  would   go  around  the  chains,  and   the  clattering 
/upon  the  pavement  could  be  distinctly  heard  inside.     This 


34  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 

also  was  at  length  stopped,  as  the  sexton  and  the  constable  in 
charge  were  authorized  to  arrest  persons  attempting  to  in- 
fringe or  evade  the  law. 

Sacramental  occasions  were  seasons  of  unusual  solemnity 
and  interest.  On  the  evening  preceding  the  administration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  the  minister  and  elders  distributed  to  the 
church  members  small  pieces  of  metal,  called  "tokens,"  on 
one  side  of  which  was  impressed  a  heart.  These  tokens  were 
taken  up  on  the  morning  of  the  communion  in  pewter  plates, 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  church,  and  marked  ''church 
"pewter."  They  are  stamped  with  the  words  "made  in 
"  London,"  and  some  of  them  bear  monograms  of  "  J.  D.  D." 
Communicants  partook  of  the  sacrament  from  tables  spread 
in  the  aisles.  The  colored  communicants  were  served  by 
themselves,  in  pews  in  the  western  aisle.  Tables  were  used 
until  it  became  necessary  to  enlarge  the  church,  when  the 
fronts  of  pews  were  so  made  as  to  let  down,  and  thus  furnish 
a  table  for  those  sitting  in  the  pews. 

The  appearance  of  the  congregations  in  those  early  times 
is  also  noted.     Watson  says  :  — 

"The  Episcopalians  showed  most  grandeur  in  dress  and 
"  costume  ;  next,  the  Presbyterians,  the  gentlemen  of  whom 
"  freely  indulged  in  powdered  and  frizzled  hair.     Among  the 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  37 

"  Methodists  there  were  no  powdered  heads  of  men,  and  no 
"  gay  bonnets  or  ribbons  were  to  be  seen  among  them." 

In  1809  it  was  found  that  the  congregation  needed  more 
room,  and  it  was  concluded  to  extend  the  building  and  em- 
brace the  ground  occupied  by  the  base  of  the  steeple.  The 
steeple  itself  had  been  taken  down.  This  made  a  complete 
change  in  the  pews  and  the  pulpit.  The  pulpit  was  moved  to 
the  west  end,  ornamented  with  some  carving,  and  painted 
white.  The  pews  were  modernized  and  cushioned.  Glass 
chandeliers  were  introduced  in  place  of  the  sconces  on  the 
wall.     A  lecture  room  was  added  in  1819. 

In  order  to  gain  a  clear  understanding  of  the  early  history 
of  our  church  we  must  glance  at  the  state  of  the  City  in  those 
early  times.  In  1726  a  man  going  from  the  Old  Swedes' 
Church  to  the  "  Blue  Horse  Tavern  "  (now  Ninth  and  South 
streets),  saw  nothing  but  lofty  forests,  swamps,  and  abundant 
garne.  Between  High  street  and  Arch,  and  Fifth  and  Sixth 
'streets,  was  *'  Hudson's  orchard,"  an  enclosure  "  rented  for 
'*  eight  dollars  per  annum  for  a  horse  pasture."  Near  the 
x-corner  of  Fifth  and  High  streets  was  a  pond,  where  the  City 
boys  skated  in  winter  and  resorted  for  wild  fowl  shooting  in 
summer.  When  the  Second  Church  built  its  house  at  the 
corner  of  Third   and    Arch,   the   land   was    taken    up    from 


3^         1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876 


Samuel  Preston  Moore  and  Richard  Hill,  on  a  ground-rent  of 
£2^  I2s.  6d.,  sterling,  per  annum.  The  lot  was  ninety-eight 
and  a  half  feet  on  Arch  street,  and  eighty  on  Third  street. 
The  land  was  used  as  a  farm,  and  when  the  house  was  put 
up  it  was  known  as  the  "new  meeting-house  in  Dr.  Hill's 
"pasture." 

Up  to  1793,  wealthy  merchants  lived  over  their  stores  in 
Water  and  Front  streets  ;  but  about  this  time  some  venturous 
men  began  to  extend  the  western  limits  of  the  City.  Mr. 
Markoe,  a  man  of  remarkable  enterprise,  built  a  house  on 
High  street  (now  Market),  between  Ninth  and  Tenth,  "in  a 
"meadow,"  and  so  remote  from  all  City  intercourse  that  his 
friends  made  his  enterprise  a  jest,  and  said,  "he  lived  out  on 
"  High  street,  next  door  but  one  to  the  Schuylkill  ferry."  West 
of  Tenth  no  streets  were  opened  or  thought  of  by  the  most 
adventuresome.  Frog  ponds  and  a  few  brick  kilns  were  the 
most  common  sights,  and  when  a  few  families  made  a  bold 
push,  and  struck  out  into  the  wilderness  above  Tenth  street, 
it  was  a  matter  of  common  sympathy  and  regret  that,  "  gen- 
"teel  families  should  encounter  so  many  inconveniences  to 
"  make  western  improvements."  This  was  the  beginning  of 
"going  west"  in  this  latitude.  The  two  boldest  innovators 
of  that  time  were  a   Mr.  Wahn  and  a  Mr.  Sims.     The  first 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  39 

ventured  to  brave  public  opinion,  and  took  a  grand  stride  to 
Seventh  and  Chestnut.  His  friend,  inspired  by  his  courage, 
overran  him,  and  built  at  Ninth  and  Chestnut. 

In  1835,  after  the  building  at  Third  and  Arch  had  been 
occupied  for  eighty-three  years,  it  was  thought  desirable  to 
remove  to  a  more  eligible  position.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  make  sale  of  the  property,  and  procure  a  new  site 
for  the  church.  As  usual,  on  changing  church  locations, 
there  was  much  difference  of  opinion.  Some  wished  to  go 
into  Fourth  street,  and  others  into  Seventh.  No  small  oppo- 
sition was  made  to  the  Seventh  street  location,  on  account  of 
its  being  "  too  far  west."  Differences  were  at  length,  however, 
reconciled,  and  the  committee  purchased  two  lots  on  Seventh, 
near  Arch.  Messrs.  Kane,  Chauncey,  Strawbridge,  Freeland, 
and  Hazard,  were  appointed  a  building  committee.  The 
corner  stone  for  the  new  building  was  laid  by  the  pastor. 
Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler,  September  6,  1836. 

.  Dr.  Green  made  an  address,  in  which  he  sets  forth  the 
reasons  for  removing  from  Third  and  Arch  to  Seventh  streets. 
•  He  says  :  — 

"  The  structure  which,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  will,  it  is  hoped,  rise  over 
•'  the  corner-stone  which  has  now  been  deposited,  has  been  rendered  indispen- 
"  sable  by  the  repeal  of  that  law  of  this  State  which  authorized  the  placing  of 


40  1743- THE    OLD   AND    THE    NEW. —  1 8/6. 


**  chains  across  the  streets  of  this  City,  opposite  to  the  churches,  during  the  hours 
"  of  public  worship,  on  the  Lord's  day.  The  house,  which  its  owners  and 
"  occupants  have  thus  been  compelled  to  abandon,  was  always  unfavorably 
"  located  for  the  preservation  of  that  entire  quiet,  so  exceedingly  desirable  in  the 
"  worship  of  Almighty  God.  The  late  Dr.  Elias  Boudinot,  whose  father  was 
"  among  the  original  members  of  this  congregation,  informed  me  that  Dr. 
<*  Franklin  advised  the  people  who  built  that  house,  by  no  means  to  place  it  at 
**  the  corner  of  two  streets;  but  to  seek  a  location  for  it  in  the  centre  of  a  square, 
"  not  then  difficult  to  be  found,  or  expensive  in  the  purchase.  Franklin's 
"  sagacious  mind  foresaw,  that  although  at  that  time  the  population  of  the  City 
*'  and  the  use  of  carriages,  gave  little  interruption  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary, 
"  it  would  be  far  otherwise  in  process  of  time. 

"Since  the  removal  of  the  street  chains,  the  increase  of  carriages,  and  the 
"introduction  of  a  new  vehicle  —  the  omnibus,  the  most  noisy  of  all  —  and  all 
"  this  connected  with  the  increased  and  increasing  disregard  and  desecration  of 
"  the  Sabbath,  the  church  at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Mulberry,'  or  Arch  streets, 
"  is  certainly  in  as  unfit  a  location  for  the  public  worship  of  God  as  could  be 
*'  found  in  the  City.  Wherefore,  the  brethren  have  done  well  in  seeking  a  place 
"  for  a  christian  temple  in  which  their  devotions  and  religious  instruction  may 
"  be  conducted  without  being  marred,  as  they  have  been  to  a  lamentable  extent, 
"  for  a  considerable  time  past,  in  the  house  where  they  now  assemble.  In  taking 
"this  step,  they  doubtless  violate  some  tender  feelings.  The  house  where  their 
"  fathers  worshipped,  in  which  many  of  them  have  been  baptized,  and  have  often 
"heard  the  messages  of  salvation,  and  held  sweet  communion  in  sacred  ordin- 
"  ances  —  cannot  but  be  associated  with  recollections,  at  once  solemn,  impressive, 
"  and  delightful.  But  there  can  be  no  equivalent  for  composure  in  prayer  and 
"  praise,  and  for  edification  in  listening  to  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel  of  the 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  4I 

"grace  of  God  :  and  most  auspicious  it  is,  and  highly  creditable  to  all  concerned, 
"  that  it  has  been,  as  I  am  informed,  with  entire  unanimity  that  this  measure  has 
"  been  adopted,  of  abandoning  a  house  in  which  spiritual  edification  is  interfered 
"  with,  and  the  erection  of  another,  where  this  inestimable  blessing  may  be  fully 
"  enjoyed.  May  this  harmony  continue,  as  the  best  presage  that  every  anticipa- 
"  tion  of  future  benefits  may  be  realized  and  exceeded." 

This  building  was  made  of  marble.  The  pulpit  was  also 
of  marble,  and  had  behind  it  the  tablet  to  the  memory  of 
Whitefield  and  Tennent,  which  is  now  placed  in  our  chapel 
on  Twenty-first  street.  It  was  lighted  with  gas,  and  probably 
the  first  church  so  lighted  in  the  City.  The  fixtures  in  our 
chapel  are  a  part  of  the  old  furniture.  John  Struthers  (the 
father  of  the  late  William  Struthers,  whose  mementos  are 
in  this  beautiful  baptismal  fount,  and  some  of  these  small 
columns),  was  the  architect.  The  church  was  dedicated  July 
16,  1837.  Three  sermons  were  preached  on  that  occasion  : 
Dr.  Cuyler  in  the  morning.  Dr.  Green  in  the  afternoon,  and 
Dr.  Janeway  in  the  evening. 

Of  the  music  in  the  Second  Church,  Mr.  Samuel  Hazard 
writes  :  — 

"  The  subject  of  psalmody  and  music  has  often  been  agitated  in  the  congrega- 
"tion.  In  1763,  a  contest  arose  respecting  the  introduction  of  Watts'  Psalms 
"  in  place  of  the  old  Scotch  version,  when  it  was  decided  to  adopt  the  former. 
i^  in  consequence   of  which  one  or  two  members  withdrew  from  the   church. 

D 


42  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

"  Some  years  later,  another  contest  arose  respecting  the  giving  out  the  line,  as 
"  had  been  the  practice,  when  it  was  decided  to  be  omitted,  and  the  congregation 
"  to  provide  themselves  with  books.  The  question  also  arose  at  another  time, 
"  after  the  introduction  of  the  organ,  between  the  Trustees  and  Session,  as  to  the 
"  right  of  the  Session  to  direct  the  selection  of  tunes,  which  was  referred  to  the 
"  Presbytery." 

"  There  have  since  ])een  other  discussions  with  regard  to  church  music." 

Of  the  music  in  the  new  church  he  says  :  — 

*'  It  having  become  necessary,  during  the  progress  of  the  new  building,  to 
<'  provide  for  the  location  of  an  organ  in  it,  and  to  ascertain  the  sentiments  of  the 
"  congregation  on  the  subject  of  introducing  one;  and  there  being  some  diversity 
"  of  opinion,  a  meeting  of  pew-holders  and  communicants  was  called  in  the 
"  lecture-room  in  Cherry  street,  at  which  meeting  it  was  decided  in  favor  of 
"  having  an  organ,  and  the  building  committee  were  desired  to  pvepare  a  suitable 
"  place  for  one.  At  this  meeting,  it  is  believed,  only  two  persons  raised  their 
"  voices  against  the  measure ;  one  of  them  is  deceased,  and  the  other  now  be- 
"  longs  to  another  church." 

We  have  now  passed  rapidly  over  ninety  years  and  more 
of  the  history  of  the  Second  Church,  touching  for  the  present 
only  the  salient  points,  and  saying  no  more  than  was  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  thread  of  its  history  unbroken,  and  the 
manner  of  its  life  steadily  before  us.  Much  remains.  It  will 
be  told  in  good  time. 

We  have  learned  at  least  this  much  :  — 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  43 


I. 


That  the  foundations  of  the  Second  Chtirch  were  laid  by 
GodfeaiHng  men. 

It  was  born  of  spiritual  necessities,  and  in  spiritual  throes, 
and  baptized  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  took  its  place  in  the 
infant  city  as  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Zion,  and  opened  its 
doors  for  the  multitudes  to  come  and  worship  God.  It  built 
on  no  uncertain  ground.  Its  members  were  reproachfully 
called  "  new  lights,"  because  they  stood  manfully  for  the 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation  in  the  midst  of  widespread 
formalism  and  looseness  of  life.  As  we  shall  see  in  the  end, 
it  gave  largely  in  benefactions,  and  multiplied  so  greatly  that 
five  Presbyterian  churches  grew  out  of  its  life,  and  remain  to 
this  day. 

II. 


//  was  a  great  power  in  the  city  and  the  land. 


It>  drew  to  its  organization  and  worship  the  highest  families 
of  the  City.     It  was  a  power  in  political  circles  and  social  life. 


44  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 

It  stood  SO  high  in  the  Presbyterian  denomination  that  the 
first  General  Assembly  ever  held  in  the  United  States  con- 
vened in  its  building.  Its  power  was  felt  in  moulding  the 
taste,  and  ordering  the  lives  of  the  early  citizens  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  we  feel  to  this  hour  the  influences  for  good  which 
were  started  by  the  old  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 

Founders  of  states,  cities,  and  churches  are  to  be  highly 
honored.  The  men  who  laid  the  foundations  of  this  church 
in  those  early  days  are  to  be  held  in  sacred  remembrance. 
They  lived  in  rude  times,  and  built  amid  inconveniences  and 
hardships,  not  always  forecasting  the  results  of  their  labors, 
or  dreaming  to  what  their  small  beginning  would  grow  in  its 
increase,  they  labored  for  their  own  time,  and  fought  the 
battles  of  their  day.  They  stood  for  God  and  the  truth. 
Trained  in  the  doctrines  and  practice  of  sturdy  old  Presby- 
terians, whose  life  and  blood  came  from  Scotland  and  the 
north  of  Ireland,  they  were  the  men  who  stood  foremost  in 
the  defence  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Its  Presbyterian 
blood  runs  in  every  vein  of  this  Republic.  Men  of  stern 
principle,  strong  faith,  simple  habits,  and  iron  will,  the  forest 
went  down  before  them,  and  enemies  were  driven  from  the 
soil.  A  city  grew  under  their  hands,  filled  with  schools,  and 
churches,  and  prosperous  trade.     They  made  the  wilderness 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 


45 


blossom  with  their  patient  labor,  and  the  city  glad  with  their 
saintly  lives.  They  trod  the  rough  places  before  us,  and 
smoothed  the  path  for  our  coming.  They  have  passed  to 
their  reward,  and  we  enter  into  their  labors.  It  is  ours  to 
perpetuate  their  memory,  to  conserve  the  interests  which 
were  so  dear  to  them,  and  pass  down  our  trusts  unimpaired 
to  the  men  and  the  generations  who  shall  come  after  us. 


II.  ^ 


3VIicala  ii. :  lO. 


*'  Arise  ye,  and  depart,  for  this  is  not  your  rest^ 


^(pXiorT^E  cannot  abide  in  one  stay.  We  journey  from 
-V^c0ct>\  place  to  place,  pass  from  one  condition  to 
another.  Growth,  development,  advance,  are 
laws  of  our  being.  Times  and  seasons  pass  over  us.  We 
are  children,  then  men,  and  in  all  the  changes  ^vhich  mark 
our  lives  as  the  years  come  and  go,  we  find  the  presence  and 
force  of  this  law  of  renewal.  Vegetable  life  will  eventually 
exhaust  the  soil,  and  must  be  transplanted  to  new  fields.  So 
we  exhaust' the  resources  of  our  location,  or  changes  come 
about  in  our  surroundings  which  compel  a  removal.  God 
has  implanted  a  necessity  in  our  being  that  our  characters 
should  be  formed  by  progressive  acts,  and  our  attainments 
reached  through  a  scries  of  changes  and  long  lines  of  steady 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  4/ 

advance.  Abram  is  to  become  the  father  of  a  great  nation, 
and  so  he  must  arise,  and  depart  from  his  native  country,  and 
go  to  a  land  of  which  he  shall  be  told.  The  Puritans  must 
be  harried  out  of  England,  and  find  their  way  to  the  wilds  of 
the  western  world,  to  test  their  principles,  perfect  their  char- 
acter, and  make  a  highway  for  the  nations.  Their  descen- 
dants in  time  must  press  their  way  from  the  coast  to  the 
interior,  and  from  inland  cities  and  fields  to  a  farther  West, 
and  from  the  West  itself  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  and  the 
ends  of  the  earth. 

We  are  constantly  coming  to  new  departures.  Transition 
is  the  order  of  human  life.  There  must  be  a  succession  of 
habitudes,  employments,  and  estates.  Rarely  do  men  live 
and  die  in  the  dwellings  where  they  were  born.  The  dwel- 
lings remain,  but  the  dwellers  are  scattered,  and  build  new 
homes  for  themselves  and  their  children.  And  what  is  true  of 
individuals  and  families  is  true  of  communities  and  churches. 
The  little  settlements  on  the  Delaware  must  grow  into  a  city. 
^The  churches  which  were  gathered  in  the  infant  colonies,  and 
worshipped  in  log  huts,  with  rude  conveniences,  must  keep 
step  with  the  march  of  migrating  peoples,  and  build  nobler 
houses  of  worship,  as  the  people  increase  in  numbers,  and 
improvements  in  society  demand  better  accommodations. 


48  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

So  the  Second  Church  in  its  early  history  built  for  the  time. 
It  was  a  small  beginning,  but  it  was  quite  abreast  of  the  age, 
and  met  the  necessities  of  the  people,  who  needed  accommo- 
dations for  stated  religious  worship.  For  nine  years  they 
worshipped  in  the  Old  Academy,  and  for  eighty-three  years 
they  occupied  the  building  erected  at  Third  and  Arch,  while 
the  City  slowly  extended  its  western  limits,  and  steadily  in- 
creased in  population.  In  this  time  Gilbert  Tennent  had  his 
pastorate  of  twenty  one  years,  from  1743  to  1764.*  He  was 
succeeded  by  John  Murray,  who  remained  but  a  single  year. 
A  vacancy  of  three  years  followed,  when  James  Sproat,  who 
was  converted  under  one  of  Tennent's  sermons  at  New  Haven, 
while  a  student  in  college,  was  called,  and  commenced  his 
labors  in  March,  1769.  In  December,  1787,  Dr.  Ashbel 
Green  was  called  as  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Sproat.     In  1793  Dr. 


*  During  his  ministry  he  manifested  great  interest  in  the  people  who  began  to  cluster  around 
the  lands  in  the  northern  part  of  the  settlement.  Many  of  them  were  brought  under  his 
ministry,  and  he  labored  earnestly  to  propagate  the  gospel  in  these  regions,  then  so  remote 
from  city  life  and  church  privileges.  Nothing  was  done,  however,  towards  establishing  a 
church  in  the  Northern  Liberties  until  after  the  Revolution,  and  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Tennant 
in  1764.  Dr.  Sproat,  in  1769,  instituted  regular  religious  services  at  Campington  (corner  of 
Second  and  Coates),  iu  a  small  house  which  the  2nd  Church  provided.  During  the  war  the 
services  were  suspended,  and  the  house  used  for  military  stores  When  peace  was  declared, 
the  project  of  gathering  a  congregation  at  Campington  was  revived,  but  took  no  definite 
form  until  1783,  when  Dr.  Green  became  the  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Sproat.  The  two  pastors 
alternated  in  the  services  of  the  church  in  the  City  and  the  preaching  at  Campington.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  first  Presbyterian  church  in  the  Northern  Liberties,  now  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shepherd.     It  was  the  first-born  of  the  Second  Church. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  49 

Sproat  died  of  yellow  fever,  after  a  pastorate  of  twenty-four 
years.  A  year  later  Rev.  Mr.  Abeel  was  called  as  assistant- 
pastor  to  Dr.  Green.  He  remained  but  a  year  and  a  half, 
and  then  removed  to  New  York.  Four  years  later  (1799) 
Dr.  Jacob  J.  Janeway  was  called  as  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Green. 
Dr.  Green  continued  in  service  till  181 2,  when  he  was  called 
to  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  closed  a  pastorate  of 
twenty-eight  years.  The  next  year  the  Rev.  Thomas  S. 
Skinner  was  called,  as  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Janeway,  and  re- 
mained in  the  service  until  the  autumn  of  18 16.  Dr.  Janeway 
continued  the  sole  pastor  till  July,  1828,  when  he  was  called 
to  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Alleghany,  having 
finished  a  pastorate  of  twenty-nine  years. 

This  resignation  left  the  church  vacant.  Rev.  Joseph  San- 
ford  was  called  in  September  of  the  same  year,  and  remained 
in  office  till  December,  1831.  After  Mr.  Sanford's  death  a 
vacancy   occurred   for  two   years,   when    Rev.    Cornelius    C. 

\Cuyler  was  called,  and  entered  upon  his  work  November  25, 
1833.     He  remained  for  sixteen  years,  and  in  1850  resigned. 

,.  Rev.  Charles  W.  Shields  was  then  called,  and  settled  in  the 
same  year.     He  remained  until   1865,  when  he  resigned,  and 
the  present  pastor  was  called. 
I    For  seventy  years  the  history  of  the  Second  Church  ran 


50  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 

smoothly.  It  held  an  honored  place  in  the  city,  and  was  an 
unquestioned  power  for  good  in  the  land.  Many  of  the 
noblest  families  were  recorded  among  its  members,  and  found 
regularly  with  its  worshippers.  The  dignity  and  manly  bear- 
ing of  its  eldership  have  come  down  to  us  in  many  household 
traditions.  They  were  men  whose  word  passed  in  business 
circles  like  lawful  coin  of  the  realm,  greatly  respected  by  all 
classes,  and  highly  venerated  by  the  younger  members  of  the 
church  and  congregation. 

A  change  began  in  1813.  The  coming  of  Mr.  Skinner  was 
the  signal  for  a  new  departure.  But  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
possessed  of  unusual  talent,  a  vivid  imagination,  and  ferv^ent 
piety,  with  extraordinary  command  of  language,  and  pleasing 
address,  his  preaching  was  in  striking  contrast  with  the  more 
solemn,  stately,  and  didactic  administrations  to  which  the 
church  had  been  so  long  accustomed.  His  services  were 
always  impressive,  sometimes  tender  and  pathetic  as  he 
poured  forth  the  invitations  and  promises  of  the  gospel,  and 
again  terrible  and  startling  as  he  uttered  the  threatenings 
of  the  law.  Great  excitement  followed.  The  congregation 
was  much  moved,  and  difference  of  feeling  became  unmistak- 
ably apparent.  It  was  thought  by  some  that  the  doctrines 
preached  were  not  altogether  orthodox,  and  it  was  not  long 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  5  I 

before  this  undefined  feeling  took  form,  and  the  more  promi- 
nent doctrines  heard  from  the  pulpit  were  characterized  as 
"new  school."  Discussions  arose  also  about  the  use  of 
means  or  "  measures,"  as  they  were  called.  Suspicions  were 
aroused.  Sermons  were  watched  and  criticised.  Sharp  dis- 
cussions followed.  Eldership  and  families  took  sides,  some 
with  the  junior  pastor,  and  others  against  him. 

At  this  point  in  the  history  of  the  church,  where,  for  the 
first  time,  two  seas  met,  we  find  the  beginning  of  those  con- 
troversies which  ended  not  only  in  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Skinner,  but  in  later  times  in  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  into  New  and  Old  School.  This  disturbed  condition 
of  things  could  not  continue,  and  after  a  co-pastorate  with 
Dr.  Janeway  for  three  years  and  four  months,  in  November, 
1816,  his  relations  with  the  church  were  dissolved.  He 
retired  with  twelve  or  fifteen  families  of  his  most  devoted 
friends  and  adherents,  to  a  building  in  Locust  street,  above 
Eighth,  standing  on  the  site  of  the  present  Musical  Fund 
Hall.  He  soon  removed  to  Arch  street,  above  Tenth,  where 
his  friends  erected  for  him  the  building  which  still  stands,  and 
is  occupied  by  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church.''' 


*  This  was  the  second  child  of  the  Second  Church. 


52  1743- — THE   OLD    AND   THE   NEW. 1 876. 

At  this  time,  the  Second  Church  stood  in  the  foremost  rank 
of  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  land,  and  in  some  respects 
might  have  been  counted  the  very  first.  It  was  widely  known 
for  its  "  intelligence,  orthodoxy,  influence,  and  wealth."  In 
ecclesiastical  standing  it  had  no  peer,  and  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs  its  voice  was  powerful,  if  not  absolute.  But  this  appa- 
rently small  division  produced  a  profound  shock.  It  was  the 
letting  out  of  waters,  and  none  could  tell  whither  they  would 
come  in  their  flow.  The  sharp  contests  which  began  here 
spread  into  other  churches,  and  to  some  extent  affected  the 
entire  religious  community.  Topics  involving  the  propriety 
of  calling  men  "sinners,"  rather  than  "brethren;"  of  instruct- 
ing unconverted  people  to  pray,  and  permitting  lay  brethren 
to  preach,  were  everwhere  discussed.  They  were  heard  in 
the  streets,  in  family  circles,  in  neighborhood  gatherings, 
found  their  way  into  Church  Sessions,  Presbyteries,  and 
Synods,  and  finally  to  the  General  Assembly  itself 

For  twelve  years  after  this  disruption,  the  church  held  on 
its  way  under  the  sole  care  of  Dr.  Janeway.  When  he  left 
for  the  Seminary  at  Allegheny,  Rev.  Joseph  Sanford  suc- 
ceeded him.  He  was  also  young,  and  came  with  no  small 
reputation  as  a  preacher  and  pastor.  For  a  time  his  preaching 
was  acceptable  and  well  attended.     The  hope  was  cherished 


i;743. — THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 8/6.  53 


that  with  the  new  and  eloquent  pastor  all  the  old  difficulties 
would  be  smoothed  over  and  soon  forgotten.  A  strong  effort 
was  made  to  re-unite  the  members  of  the  church  and  con- 
gregation in  common  efforts  and  interest  for  increased  mea- 
sures of  prosperity  and  success.  Everything  promised  well, 
and  for  a  time  all  seemed  well,  but  the  old  leaven  still  existed, 
though  kept  out  of  sight.  Gradually  it  found  its  way  to  the 
surface,  and  at  last  was  revealed  in  its  full  strength.  A  por- 
tion of  the  congregation  began  to  manifest  decided  disaffection 
and  impatience,  while  others  were  equally  demonstrative  in 
their  admiration  and  devotion  to  the  young  pastor.  How  far 
the  old  difficulties  were  perpetuated,  or  what  coloring  and 
force  they  gave  to  these  divisions,  it  is  impossible  now  to 
tell.      The   troubles   increased,   however,  rather  than   dimm- 

.  ished.     Disaffection  grew,  and  became  more  pronounced,  until 

the  church  and  congregation  were  divided  into  two  distmct 

and  irreconcilable  parties.     The  elders  and  leading  members 

'    of  the  church  arrayed  themselves  on  one  side  or  the  other. 

^  Efforts  were  made  openly  by  one  party  to  remove  the  pastor, 

-•    and  these  were  met  by  counter  efforts  to  retain  him. 

At  this  juncture  Mr.  Sanford  sickened  and  died.     He  was 
buried  from  the  church,  and  when  the  funeral  services  were 

,  over  the  friends  of  the  buried  pastor,  led  by  such  excellent 


54  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

men  as  Alexander  Henry,  Matthew  Newkirk,  Matthew  Bevan, 
and  others,  retired  and  organized  a  new  church.  This  be- 
came the  Central  Church,  which  is  now  worshiping  at  Eighth 
and  Cherry  streets,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  James 
Munro.  This  was  the  third  child  of  the  Second  Church,  born 
in  spiritual  throes  and  agonies,  which  took  hold  upon  the 
very  life. 

Though  these  unhappy  differences  ended  in  a  final  separa- 
tion, still  the  Christian  feeling  and  affection  seemed  not  alto- 
gether to  have  been  destroyed.  At  the  close  of  this  year, 
ending  April  i,  1833,  the  Trustees  of  the  Second  Church 
report :  — 

**That  owing  to  the  unhappy  difference  of  sentiment  and 
**  alienation  of  brotherly  feeling,  which  has  been  permitted  to 
"  arise  and  gain  an  ascendancy,  uncontrolled  by  the  mild 
"  voice  of  reason  or  religion,  a  secession  of  several  of  the 
'*  pew-owners,  pew-holders,  and  communicants,  had  taken 
''place." 

But  to  show  the  kindly  feeling  and  generous  course  pur- 
sued towards  the  seceding  members,  the  report  states  that 
the  "  Board  had  voted  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  to 
''the  widow  of  the  late  pastor;"  they  had  also  repaid  in  every 
instance    to    the   seceding    pew-owners   the   prices   they   had 


/ 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  55 


originally  paid  for  the  same,  and  had  paid  also  "to  Matthew 
''  Newkirk,  on  behalf  of  teachers  of  the  Sabbath  School,  the 
"  sum  of  two  hundred  and  five  dollars,  for  the  library  books 
"left  by  them  in  the  room."  The  report  closes  with  con- 
gratulations for  the  "unanimity  and  peace  which  prevail 
"  among  them,  and  the  prospect  of  an  early  settled  ministry," 
and  praying  that  "they  might  continue  to  do  unto  others 
"  as  they  would  wish  others  to  do  to  them,  so  that  no  root  of 
"  bitterness  should  ever  spring  up  again  to  trouble  this  por- 
"tion  of  the  heritage  of  God."  This  report  is  signed  by 
Robert  Ralston,  as  President,  Isaac  Snowden,  John  White, 
and  Peter  Lesley,  as  Committee. 

It  is  just  here  that  a  little  light  is  thrown  upon  the  appa- 
rent causes  of  the  disaffection,  by  a  fragment  that  has  been 
preserved.  Mr.  Sanford  was,  in  some  respects,  an  innovator, 
and  in  others  strongly  conservative.  One  of  the  things 
which  seemed   to   give  much   offence  was,  that  he   required 

.  "  persons  who  united  with  the  church  to  rise  in  their  places, 
when  their  names  were  called,  and  give  public  assent  to  the 

""  articles  of  faith,  as  well  as  to  enter  into  covenant  with  the 
church  to  walk  in  the  ordinances  of  God's  house  blameless. 
This  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  long-established  custom 
of  introducing  members,  who  were  received  by  the  Session, 


56         1743- '^HE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876. 

and  their  names  recorded,  but  not  announced  in  public.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  custom  of  distributing  tokens  to  the 
communicants  on  the  Saturday  evening  before  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  taking. them  up  in  plates 
passed  for  that  purpose  while  the  communicants  were  seated 
at  the  table,  had  been  discontinued.  This  custom  Mr.  San- 
ford  sought  to  revive,  and  insisted  upon  its  re-adoption. 
These,  and  perhaps  other  unessential  matters,  were  magnified, 
and  became  the  occasion,  though  probably  not  wholly  the 
cause,  of  great  disaffection  and  the  final  disruption.  Robert 
Ralston,  Charles  Chauncey,  Isaac  Snowden,  Peter  Lesley,  and 
other  eminent  men  remained  with  the  old  church.  This 
defection  was  a  serious  loss.  It  not  only  greatly  lessened 
the  numbers  and  weakened  the  financial  condition  of  the 
church,  but  some  of  the  best  families  and  most  influential 
members  removed  their  relation  to  Cherry  street. 

The  members  of  the  old  congregation,  however,  set  their 
hands  again  to  the  work  of  restoration  and  recovery.  They 
soon  called  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler,  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  who  had  been  eminently  successful  as  a 
preacher  and  pastor  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  After  his 
settlement  and  adjustment  to  the  work  in  his  new  field,  the 
question  of  removal  to  some  more  central  location  began  to 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  59 

be  agitated,  and  after  much  discussion  and  some  considerable 
feeling  about  going  so  far  to  the  westward,  lots  were  secured 
on  Seventh  street,  a  little  below  Arch,  and  on  the  sixth  day 
of  September,  1836,  the  corner  stone  of  a  new  church  build- 
ing was  laid.  On  the  sixteenth  of  July  of  the  next  year  the 
building  was  dedicated  and  opened  for  divine  worship. 

We  present  a  view  on  page  57. 

"  The  front  of  this  building  was  of  marble,  and  the  interior 
"  chaste  and  commodious.  The  pulpit  was  of  pure  white 
''  marble,  built  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  mausoleum.  It 
"  rested  upon  a  platform  about  a  foot  high.  The  lower  por- 
"  tion  of  the  pulpit  was  about  five  feet  high  and  fifteen  feet 
"  long,  a  complete  parallelogram.  The  central  portion  of 
*'  this  pulpit,  and  resting  upon  the  parallelogram,  was  a  piece 
"  of  marble,  five  feet  in  length,  and  two  feet  or  more  in 
"  height,  surmounted  by  a  large  and  beautiful  velvet  cushion. 
"In  front  of  the  pulpit  stood  a  communion  table  of  carved 
:''  mahogany,  covered  with  a  slab  of  variegated  marble,  and  in 
"'the  recess  back  of  the  pulpit  was  a  tablet  to  the  memory  of 
^•"  Whitefield  and  Tennent." 

But  the  removal  from  the  old  site,  the  erection  of  a  new 

-and  attractive  building,  and  the  settlement  of  an  honored  and 

successful  pastor,   did  not   prove  an   instant   success.      Too 


60  1743- THE   OLD    AND    THE   NEW. 1  876. 

much  of  the  Hfe-blood  of  the  church  had  been  drawn  away. 
The  new  location  did  not  prove  to  be  the  best,  notwithstand- 
ing the  high  hopes  expressed  at  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone.  Causes  not  anticipated  hindered  the  growth  of  the 
church.  The  tide  had  not  only  reached  their  western  loca- 
tion, but  swept  far  beyond  them.  Families  gradually  changed 
their  residence,  and  frequently  removed  too  far  away  to  be 
able  to  worship  longer  in  the  old  church.  The  older  mem- 
bers died,  and  no  younger  members  took  their  place.  With 
this  ceaseless  drain,  which  could  neither  be  stopped  nor  the 
heavy  losses  supplied,  both  Dr.  Cuyler  and  his  successor.  Dr. 
Shields,  were  obliged  to  struggle  and  to  struggle  in  vain. 
Our  venerated  and  now  sainted  brother  and  elder,  Dr.  Hueh 
L.  Hodge,  says  of  these  times  and  of  the  location  in  Seventh 
street :  — 

'*  The  congregation,  having  taken  possession  of  their  new  and  beautiful  edifice 
"in  1836,  entertained  strong  hopes  of  a  revival  of  their  former  prosperity,  and 
"  for  a  time  these  hopes  seemed  about  to  be  realized.  The  fact,  however,  became 
"  soon  evident  that  the  new  location  of  our  church  was  most  unfortunate.  There 
"  were  two  large  Presbyterian  congregations  in  our  neighborhood,  and  families 
**  were  gradually  deserting  this  part  of  the  City  for  more  favorable  residences 
"south  and  west;  hence  the  accession  to  our  numbers  was  small,  while  the 
"  original  membership  was  gradually  diminished  by  death  and  removals ;  hence, 
"  notwithstanding  the  excellence  and  devotion  of  our  pastor,  Dr.  Cuyler,  and  the 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  6 1 

"  subsequent  labors  of  his  successor,  the  talented  and  eloquent  Dr.  Shields,  now 
**  Professor  in  Princeton  College,  our  numbers  gradually  dwindled,  and  it  became 
"  evident  that  this  position  could  not  be  maintained.  No  one  saw  this  more 
"  clearly,  or  labored  more  sedulously  to  accomplish  a  removal,  than  Dr.  Shields. 
"To  him  it  was  a  subject  of  much  anxious  thought  and  of  repeated  conversation 
"  with  leading  members  of  the  church  ;  but  the  way  was  not  opened,  and  it  was 
**  not  until  some  years  afterwards  that,  under  a  sense  of  the  stern  necessity  of  the 
"case,  and  after  much  discussion,  it  was  determined,  in  the  spring  of  1867,  to 
"  sell  our  church  building,  and  erect  another  one  in  a  more  promising  part  of 
"the  City." 

At  this  point  begins  the  history  of  the  movement  which 
resulted  in  the  purchase  of  the  lot  and  the  erection  of  the 
church  building  on  the  corner  of  Walnut  and  Twenty-first 
streets.  On  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Shields  the  present  pastor 
was  called,  and  entered  upon  his  labors  in  the  Autumn  of 
1865.  The  condition  of  the  church  was  not  promising.  But 
few  families  remained,  and  of  these  many  of  the  children  had 
scattered  to  other  churches,  or  found  a  home  in  other  denom- 
inations. The  old  prestige  was  gone.  God  had  evidently 
said  by  His  providences  long  before  : — '' Arise  fe,  and  depart, 
^^^  for  this  is  not  your  re  sty  It  was  almost  melancholy  to  see 
the  fragments  of  these  ancient  and  honored  households  gath- 
ered around  the  ashes  of  the  fires  which  their  fathers  had 
kindled,  and  long  ago  had  gone  out. 


62  1743- — THE   OLD   AND   THE    NEW. 1 876. 

With  great  effort,  upon  the  part  of  the  few  people  who 
remained,  a  new  interest  was  awakened,  and  for  a  time  new 
life  seemed  to  be  infused.  Congregations  increased,  and  the 
house  was  filled.  But  the  new  congregations  were  made  up 
of  transient  people,  and  the  church  did  not  greatly  add  to  its 
membership.  Many  of  the  causes  which  had  wrought  so 
disastrously  against  its  success  were  still  in  force.  Its  position 
was  daily  becoming  more  untenable.  No  human  power  could 
arrest  the  drift  of  business  or  the  tide  of  peoples.  It  was 
impossible  to  save  the  church  in  its  old  location.  Like  a 
stranded  ship,  from  which  the  tide  had  ebbed  away,  never  to 
return,  nothing  could  be  done  for  it.  After  much  discussion, 
and  many  meetings  for  consultation  and  prayer,  it  .was  at  last 
decided  to  leave  the  old  ground,  which  had  been  occupied  for 
twenty-eight  years,  and  seek  a  location  in  some  more  western 
part  of  the  City.  The  property  was  advertised,  and  sold  at 
auction. 

After  the  sale,  the  Horticultural  Hall,  corner  of  Broad  and 
Spruce  streets,  was  secured  for  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath, 
the  congregation  having  no  home  beyond  this  temporary 
sojourn.  Early  in  January,  1868,  an  invitation  was  received 
from  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Arch  street  above 
Tenth,  not  only  to  worship  with  them,  but  to  unite  the  two 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  63 

bodies  under  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Church.  The  propo- 
sition went  to  the  Central  Presbytery,  and  the  union  was 
declared  to  be  inexpedient  and  impossible. 

In  the  meantime  there  was  great  diversity  of  opinion  with 
regard  to  a  new  location.  The  old  objection  of  going  too  far 
west  was  urged  against  the  proposed  site  at  Walnut  and 
Twenty-first  streets.  The  time  passed  on,  and  nearly  a  year 
was  spent  in  the  Horticultural  Hall.  But  a  wandering  church 
could  not  prosper  any  more  than  a  settled  one  in  an  out  of 
the  way  place.  It  became  a  question  of  action  or  dissolution, 
and  upon  the  most  careful  advice,  and  with  most  earnest 
prayer  for  the  Divine  direction,  the  lot  on  the  corner  of 
Walnut  and  Twenty-first  streets  was  purchased.  By  this 
final  action  we  lost  some  of  the  influential  and  wealthy 
members  of  the  church,  but  the  lot  secured  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  cultivated  and  rapidly  increasing  population.  The  rem- 
nant that  was  left  gathered  courage,  and  having  raised  a 
Subscription  of  thirty-three  thousand  dollars,  broke  ground 
oh  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  March,  1869.  To  furnish  a  rest- 
^ing  place  for  our  weary  feet,  and  a  room  where  we  could 
gather  what  was  left  of  our  scattered  forces  while  the  building 
'was  going  up,  the  plain  structure  in  the  rear  of  this  building 
was  erected,  and  by  courtesy  called  a  chapel.     To  this  modest 


u^ 


64         1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 18/6. 

building  were  transferred  a  part  of  the  pulpit,  the  pews,  and 
the  gas  fixtures  of  the  church  in  Seventh  street,  which  gave 
it  quite  a  home-like  appearance.  On  the  seventh  of  January, 
1869,  with  tears  of  gratitude  and  songs  of  thanksgiving  we 
entered  that  humble  place  of  prayer. 

The  corner  stone  of  this  new  building  was  laid  by  the 
pastor,  June  21,  1869.  Rev.  W.  A.  Musgrave,  D.  D.,  made 
the  address.  On  the  thirteenth  day  of  October,  1872,  it 
was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God.  Two  ser- 
mons were  preached  by  the  pastor :  In  the  morning,  from 
Psalm  xcvi.,  6,  —  **  Strength  and  beauty  are  in  His  sanctuary  ;  " 
and  in  the  evening,  from  Isaiah  Ivi.,  7,  —  ''My  house  shall  be 
**  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  people''  A  week  of  services 
followed,  conducted  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  ministers 
in  the  land. 

The  work  accomplished  by  this  church  since  its  organiza- 
tion in  1743  cannot  now  be  told.  A  few  facts  only  can  be 
stated.  It  has  erected  three  church  buildings.  The  first 
Sabbath  school  in  the  City,  and  perhaps  in  the  country,  was 
established  in  its  congregation.  The  Bible  Society  owes  its 
early  successes,  if  not  its  origin,  to  its  ministry  and  benefac- 
tions. It  has  educated  in  its  parochial  school  some  of  the 
foremost  men  and  women  of  Philadelphia.     It  has  gathered  a 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  65 

great  army  of  converts  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  furnished  men  for 
the  ministry,  and  given  many  members  to  churches  of  other 
denominations.  It  has  contributed  largely  in  benefactions, 
cared  for  many  poor  widows  and  orphan  children,  and  made 
a  record  of  service  and  fidelity  of  which  neither  our  fathers 
nor  their  descendents  need  be  ashamed.  In  the  work  of 
building  this  house  our  people  have  done  nobly,  and  are 
entitled  to  great  credit.     The  structure  will  speak  for  itself 

The  property  has  largely  increased  in  value,  and  in  turn 
has  added   to   the  value  of  all   estates   in   its  neighborhood. 
Permanent  benefactions  to  the  church  are  as  follows  :  — 

Pulpit  and  wing  walls,  seats  around  the  apsis,  and  carpet  for 
the  pulpit,  with  the  five  stained  glass  windows  in  the  rear : 
from  the  late  Theodore  Cuyler,  esq,,  in  memory  of  his  father, 
Rev.  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler,  D.  D. 

Baptismal  font,  of  stone,  beautifully  carved:  from  the  late 
\  William  Struthers,  in  memory  of  his  father,  John  Struthers. 

^    One  two-light  stained  glass  window,  on  the  west  aisle  :  from 
^.  Charles  F.  Haseltine. 

One  two-light  stained  glass  window,  in  the  west  aisle  :  from 
James  L.  Harmer,  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Coit  Lauman 
Harmer. 


66 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 


One  two-light  stained  glass  window,  in  west  aisle  :  con- 
tributed to  the  memory  of  James  Vanuxem,  by  Mary  Van- 
uxem  Wurts,  daughter  of  the  late  James  Vanuxem. 

One  two-light  stained  glass  window,  in  east  aisle  :  from 
C.  E.  Claghorn,  to  the  memory  of  Alice  Niles  Miller. 

One  two-light  stained  glass  window,  in  the  east  aisle  :  from 
the  late  Miss  Rebecca  Snowden,  to  the  memory  of  Isaac 
Snowden,  a  former  elder  in  the  church. 

A  single  light  stained  glass  window,  in  the  east  transept : 
from  Mary  Cole,  to  the  memory  of  James  Hunter  Cole. 

Two  one-light  windows,  in  the  east  transept,  from  William 
and  Edmund  Smith,  to  the  memory  of  Robert  Smith  and 
Robert  Hobart  Smith,  both  of  whom  were  formerly  elders  in 
this  church. 

A  fund  now  amounting  to  twelve  thousand  six  hundred 
dollars:  given  by  Elias  Boudinot  in  1812,  the  interest  of 
which  to  be  expended  annually  for  "poor  pious  women  and 
"children." 

The  Spencer  Trust,  a  ground  rent  which  yields  $48  per 
annum  :  to  be  used  for  the  poor  of  the  church. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1 8/6.  6/ 


Two  silver  goblets,  for  the  communion  service :  presented 
by  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  A  silver  tankard:  presented  by 
John  Sproat;  and  four  silver  plates,  presented  by  Dr.  Hugh 
L.  Hodge. 

The  Bible  which  graces  our  pulpit  was  presented  by  Mr. 
Lemuel  Coffin,  of  Holy  Trinity. 

A  valuable  library  for  the  pastor,  and  teachers  of  the  Sab- 
bath school,  and  another  for  the  scholars,  were  presented  by 
a  member  of  our  church  whose  name  cannot  appear. 

A  most  interesting  and  valuable  collection  of  biblical  illus- 
trations, gathered  in  part  by  the  pastor,  in  Palestine,  were 
presented  by  the  late  Mrs.  Parthenia  P.  Mayfield. 

.  The  actual  membership  of  the  church  in  these  generations 
it  is  not  possible  to  know  with  certainty ;  it  must  amount  to 
thousands.  "  We  reached  this  ground,  after  all  the  depletions 

•'by  separations   and  waste   of  years,  with  about  sixty  living 
members,  the  larger  number  women.    We  now  number  nearly 

^"  or  quite  four  hundred. 

Our  journey  is  ended.     We  stand  to-day  in  this  beautiful 

■  house  of  prayer,  with  eye  undimmed  and  force  unabated,  one 
.hundred  and  thirty-three  years  old.     With  trembling  lips,  as 


6S  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1 876. 

we  tell  the  story  of  our  birth,  our  trials,  and  our  victory,  we 
give  all  praise  to  God.  He  led  our  fathers  :  He  has  been  a 
covenant-keeping  God  with  their  children  and  their  children's 
children.  Among  us  still  are  honored  disciples,  who  remem- 
ber well  the  house  and  the  ordering  of  the  service  in  Arch 
street.  They  know  all  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  has  led 
His  people.  We  give  them  joy  that  they  have  lived  to  see 
this  church,  which  their  fathers  founded,  and  in  which  they 
themselves  were  born  and  baptized,  rise  in  beauty  and  gran- 
deur in  this  latter  day  toward  the  setting  sun.  They  will 
bear  on  toward  the  grave  rich  memories  of  the  past  and  a 
brighter  outlook  for  the  time  to  come. 

Presbyterians  owe  much  to  this  old  Second  Church. 

In  all  the  generations  of  her  history  she  has  been  faithful 
to  the  truth.  No  uncertain  sound  has  been  given  by  the 
men  who  blew  silver  trumpets  on  her  walls.  In  all  conten- 
tions and  discussions  about  doctrines,  measures,  or  men,  she 
was  mighty  for  God  and  the  truth.  The  great  men  whose 
names  are  enrolled  upon  her  records,  and  whose  lives  make 
her  history,  were  heroic  defenders  of  the  faith.  Their  work 
and  their  memories  have  outlived  the  noisy  and  discordant 
strife  of  tongues.  The  mystic  seed  of  the  kingdom  which 
they  sowed,  often  in  tears,  has  taken  root  and  filled  the  land. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  69 

America  owes  much  to  this  ancient  church  of  God. 

Her  strong  men  helped  to  lay  the  foundations  and  built  on 
the  walls  of  this  Republic.  Presbyterian  principles,  like  the 
old  Roman  cement,  went  into  the  structure  of  the  national 
government.  They  were  sought  in  council,  and  followed  as 
leaders,  in  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls. 

Philadelphia  owes  her  much. 

Identified  with  all  the  history  of  this  early  colony,  and  now 
second  city  of  the  republic,  she  has  been  from  the  beginning 
a  tower  of  strength,  a  beauty,  and  a  defence.  She  has  trained 
for  places  of  honor  and  trust  some  of  Philadelphia's  noblest 
men  and  women.  She  planted  in  the  wilderness  "  the  fir  tree, 
"and  the  pine,  and  the  box  together."  She  has  kept  pace 
with  the  march  of  improvement  and  the  migrating  of  peoples. 
On  your  western  borders  she  has  reared  in  these  last  days  a 
home  for  her  children,  and  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  people. 

\  This  beautiful  house  we  do  not  present  to  you  as  an  evidence 
^of  our  taste   or  a   monument   of  our  skill.     We   have   built 

^.  grandly,  and  for  the  ages,  but  we  have  built  for  God.  As 
our  fathers  did  before  us,  we  have  given  to   Him  the  best. 

-  Some  of  us  did  jiot  expect  to  worship  long  in  this  building, 
but  we  built  as  if  we  were  to  remain  here  alway.     No  man 


70  1743- THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 876. 

of  our  company  wrought  more  faithfully,  prayed  more  ear- 
nestly, or  gave  more  liberally,  for  the  success  of  this  work, 
than  did  that  dear  old  servant  of  God,*  who  lived  long 
enough  to  pass  the  threshold,  and  worship  the  God  of  his 
fathers  in  this  completed  structure,  but  whose  sightless  eyes 
never  saw  its  beauty.  The  labor  of  our  hands  lies  in  these 
walls.  The  massive  granite  and  stately  columns  hold  our 
confession  of  faith.  The  record  of  the  agonies,  the  strong 
crying  and  tears,  the  sore  travail,  the  wrestling  with  God, 
is  on  high. 

Mother  of  churches,  and  mother  of  mighty  men  !  She  has 
renewed  her  youth.  She  has  put  on  her  beautiful  garments, 
and  is  adorned  as  a  bride  for  the  Lamb.  Her  children  are 
gathered  again  by  her  side,  and  in  the  household  there  is 
thanksgiving  and  joy.  Bless  her,  ye  that  dwell  in  her  courts, 
and  ye  that  pass  by,  for  Jehovah  hath  blessed  her,  and  she 
shall  be  blessed  for  evermore. 


*  Dr.  Hugh  L.  Hodge. 


III. 


Epli.  iv. :  11,  IS. 


"  And  He  gave  some,  apostles  ;  and  some,  prophets;  and  some,  evangelists  ;  and 
"  some,  pastors  and  teachers  :  For  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of 
*' the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ.''^ 


ATIONS    must    have    rulers  ;    armies,    leaders ;    all 
effective  organizations,  a  head.     God   has  planted 
the  human  race  upon  the  earth,  to  work  out  the 
problems  of  life  and  probation  :  — ''  the  earth  hath  he  given 
"to  the  children  of  men,"  and  upon  it  he  has  set  them  in 
;-   families   like  a  flock.      For  safety,   defence,   better  training, 
'to  answer  the  social  and  gregarious  instincts  of  human  nature, 
«.•   they  gather  into  cities,  villages,  communities,  and  these  must 
have  government,  order,  law ;  and  so  rulers,  chiefs,  or  head- 
men, what   Carlyle  calls  able  men.     The  church   is  but  the 
family  enlarged,  a  community  which  must  have  order,  help, 


J2  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 

government,  as  well  as  the  State.  No  church  can  be  complete 
in  its  organization,  or  equipped  for  its  proper  work  without 
an  overseer,  leader,  guide.  The  beautiful  name  given  in  the 
scriptures  is  pastor,  or  shepherd.  Christ  is  the  Great  Shep- 
herd who  watches  over  the  flock,  —  the  Church  of  God. 
Pastors  are  the  under-shepherds,  placed  over  individual  flocks, 
who  are  to  care  for  those  committed  to  their  keeping,  as  a 
shepherd  cares  for  his  sheep.  They  are  to  feed  them,  fold 
them,  lead  them  into  green  pastures,  and  defend  them  even 
with  life. 

This  divine  arrangement  is  for  the  ''perfecting  of  the  saints, 
''the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the  edifying  of  the  body  of 
"  Christy  The  great  end  is  that  the  church  may  be  trained  ; 
everything  w^cll  ordered  and  appointed,  that  Christians  may 
have  the  best  possible  means  of  instruction,  all  healthful 
advantages  to  increase  in  knowledge,  grow  in  grace,  and  be 
built  up  in  the  most  holy  faith.  The  church  which  He  has 
bought  with  His  blood  is  Christ's  special  care  in  this  world. 
As  it  was  expedient  for  Him  to  go  away  when  His  work 
on  earth  was  done.  He  has  left  the  work  of  Christian  train- 
ing in  the  hands  of  men  whom  He  calls  and  ordains  to 
this  service,  —  some,  apostles;  some,  prophets  ;  some,  evan- 
gelists ;    and   some,    pastors    and   teachers  :    various    offices, 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  73 

suited  to  the  times  and  needs  of  the  church,  and  all  to  min- 
ister to  the  same  end,  the  ''edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ." 
The  church  is  to  be  built,  —  built  up,  —  foundations  laid, 
walls  go  up,  topmost  stone  put  in  place,  and  for  this  there 
must  be  workmen,  wise  master  builders,  apt  to  teach,  faithful 
to  guide,  and  who  need  not  be  ashamed. 

These  officers  are  Christ's  gift  to  His  Church.  He  calls 
men,  trains  them  by  His  providence,  gives  them  His  Spirit, 
endows  them  with  gifts,  sets  them  over  His  flock,  and  makes 
them  responsible  for  the  safety  of  every  soul  committed  to 
their  care.  We  have  passed  rapidly  over  the  external  history 
of  the  Second  Church,  the  gathering  of  its  congregations, 
erection  of  its  buildings,  the  going  out  of  its  people,  from 
time  to  time,  to  establish  new  centres  and  occupy  new  fields. 
It  is  impossible  to  complete  and  round  the  history  of  this  old 
and  honored  church  of  Christ  without  studying  the  men 
whose   hands   laid   her  foundations  and   built   on   her  walls. 

/Their  lives  made  her  history  ;  their  names  are  inwrought  in 
every  record  that  has  come  down  to  us  ;  they  gathered  the 

^.people,  and  led  them  as  a  shepherd  does  his  flock.     Their 
illustrious  names  and  heroic  deeds  gave  power  to  her  counsels 

-and  grandeur  to  her  achievements,  and  the  memory  of  their 
noble  examples  and  successful  work  are  our  richest  inheri- 


74  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

tance.  We  are  not  to  garnish  their  sepulchres,  but  to  per- 
petuate their  memories,  live  again  their  lives,  carry  on  their 
masterly  work.  The  fathers  shall  teach  us,  shall  live  again 
in  their  children  and  in  their  children's  children. 

George  Whitefield  Avas  the  founder  of  this  church,  but 
never  a  pastor.  In  the  strictest  sense,  he  was  an  evangelist. 
After  his  ordination  by  Bishop  Bevan,  in  Gloucester,  England, 
it  may  be  said  that  he  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word. 
Dr.  Sprague  classes  him  among  the  Episcopalians.  As  he 
associated  much  with  the  Wesleys,  and  preached  like  them  in 
the  fields,  the  English  people  classed  him  with  the  Metho- 
dists. As  he  preached  in  America,  where  Presbyterians  were 
numerous,  and  gathered  Presbyterian  churches^  he  passed 
among  us  for  a  good  Presbyterian.  He  is  neither  one  of 
these  now. 

In  a  curious  pamphlet  which  was  published  in  London,  and 
reprinted  and  sold  by  William  Bradford  in  1749,  in  Second 
street,  Whitefield  answers  the  charges  made  against  the  Metho- 
dists, in  a  scurrilous  publication,  apparently  by  a  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England.  One  charge  was  :  —  ''  That  after  the 
**  Methodists  had  traduced  the  clergy  as  long  as  they  were 
"permitted  to  do  it,  in  their  own  churches  and  pulpits,  they 
"  set  about  this  pious  work  of  defamation  more  heartily  in 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  75 

*  the  fields."  To  this  Whitefield  rephes  :  —  **  On  such  a  day, 
'  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield,  after  having  had  an  University 
'  education,  been  regularly  ordained  deacon  and  priest  of  the 
'  Church  of  England,  and  invited  to  preach  in  most  churches 

*  of  the  cities  of  Gloucester,  Bristol,  Westminster,  and  London 
'  (in  the  last  of  which  places  he  collected  near  a  thousand 
'pounds  sterling  for  the  charity  children),  being  causelessly 
'  denied  the  further  use  of  the  churches,  because  he  preached 
'the  necessity  of  the  new  birth,  and  justification  in  the  sight 

*  of  God  by  faith  alone  in  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Jesus 
'  Christ,  began  to  preach  the  same  doctrines  in  the  fields." 

Novelty  was  another  charge  :  —  "But  though  this  danger- 
'  ous  and  presumptions  sect,  strolling  predicants,  itinerant 
'  enthusiasts,  have  allured  some  itching  ears,  and  drawn  them 
'  aside  by  calumniating  their  proper  pastors,  they  have  sense 
'  enough  to  know  the  itch  will  go  off,  and  their  trade  not 
'  continue  long,  unless  they  can  produce  something  novel  or 

*  uncommon,  what  the  wandering  sheep  have  not  been  used 
'to   in   their  churches."       His   manly  answer  to   novelty  in 

doctrines  is  this  :  — "  The  doctrines  we  chiefly  insist  upon 
'  arc  these  :  —  That  man  is  very  far  gone  from  original  right- 
'  eousness  :  that  he  cannot  turn  and  prepare  himself  by  his 
'^  own  natural  strength  and  good  works  to  faith  and  calling 


J^  ^743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

"  upon  God :  that  we  are  accounted  righteous  before  God 
''only  for  the  merit  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
"  hy  faith,  and  not  for  our  own  works  or  deserving:  that 
''albeit  good  works  are  fruits  of  faith,  and  follow  after  justifi- 
"  cation,  cannot  put  away  our  sins,  and  endure  the  severity 
"  of  God's  judgment,  yet  are  they  pleasing  and  acceptable 
"to  God  in  Christ,  and  do  spring  out  necessarily  of  a  true 
"and  lively  faith;  insomuch  that  by  them  a  lively  faith  may 
"be  evidently  known,  as  a  tree  is  discerned  by  its  fruits." 

The  great  battle  was  over  these  doctrines.  His  first  sermon 
in  London  was  in  Bishopsgate  Church,  August  4,  1737.  As  he 
went  up  the  pulpit  stairs  the  people  sneered  at  him  on  account 
of  his  youth,  but  they  grew  serious  in  the  time  of  preaching, 
and  showed  great  respect  as  he  passed  down.  Soon  after  he 
preached  in  Bow  Church,  Cheapside,  which  was  exceedingly 
crowded,  and  for  nearly  three  months  after  preached  from 
church  to  church  to  immense  throngs.  Constables  were 
placed  without  and  within.  Thousands  went  away  from  the 
largest  churches  for  want  of  room.  On  Sunday  mornings, 
long  before  day,  the  streets  were  filled  with  people  going  to 
church,  with  their  lanterns  in  their  hands,  and  conversing 
about  the  things  of  God. 

All  this  produced  great  excitement,  and  awakened  strong 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  // 

opposition.  Many  sermons  were  preached  against  him ;  letters 
and  pamphlets  published;  and  to  oppose  Whitefield  was  a 
means  of  preferment  at  court.  Bishops,  curates,  and  chap- 
lains made  him  the  target  of  their  keenest  shafts.  But  the 
young  hero  continued  to  preach,  to  the  immense  throngs, 
who  hurried  to  and  fro  wherever  he  was  announced,  the 
necessity  of  the  new  birth  and  the  old  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith.  The  opposition  became  so  fierce  at  last  that 
churches,  one  after  another,  were  closed  against  him.  He 
then  resorted  to  the  fields,  and  throngs  followed  him  to 
Moorfields  and  Blackheath.  He  preached  in  churchyards 
and  from  stone  walls,  sometimes  the  mob  threatening  his  life, 
and  men  lying  in  wait  for  him. 

In  this  same  spirit,  and  preaching  these  same  doctrines,  he 
came  to  America  and  landed  at  Philadelphia.  Churches  here 
were  few,  and  these  for  the  most  part  were  closed  against  him, 
but  God's  heavens  were  over  him,  and  streets  and  fields  were 

.'•accessible.     In  the  balcony  of  the  old  Court  House  in  Second 
street,  and  on  the  steps,  and  on  Society  Hill,  by  the  flagstaff, 

^-  he  invaded  the  religious  formalism  of  the  time  by  thundering 
the  doctrines  of  the  reformation.     At  the  sound  of  his  voice 

•  the  people  ran  together,  and   listened  with  great  eagerness. 
,As  in  London,  under  his  preaching  the  attention  of  the  people 


78  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

was  greatly  drawn  to  eternal  thing's.  Great  awakening  fol- 
lowed. The  work  spread:  the  whole  City  was  moved.  A 
great  change  passed  over  the  society  of  Philadelphia.  All 
classes  became  serious  and  thoughtful,  earnest,  and  many 
were  converted  to  God, 

From  these  converts  one  hundred  and  forty  were  gathered, 
after  careful  selection  and  examination,  and  formed  into  a 
church.  It  was  called  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  as  the  First  was  already  in  existence,  and  had  a 
house  on  High  street,  below  Third.  The  formation  of  this 
church  was  the  culmination  of  Whitefield's  work  in  Phila- 
delphia. He  gathered  the  sheep  into  the  fold,  and  then  went 
on  his  way  to  search  for  the  lost  in  regions  beyond.  He 
commenced  preaching  at  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  fin- 
ished at  fifty-six,  having  preached  eighteen  thousand  times, 
an  average  of  more  than  ten  times  a  week  for  thirty-four 
years.  Probably  no  man  ever  lived  on  the  earth  who  preached 
Christ  to  so  many  people,  or  gathered  so  many  souls  for  the 
King  of  Glory.  His  last  sermon  was  preached  at  Exeter,  in 
the  open  air,  to  a  great  multitude,  on  Saturday,  September  29, 
1770.  He  went  on  to  Newburyport  the  same  evening,  where 
he  was  to  preach  on  the  morrow.  Wearied  and  worn  he 
went  to  his  bed,  and  slept  till  two  the  next  morning,  when  he 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  79 

awoke,  oppressed  for  breath.  At  five,  sitting  in  his  chair,  with 
no  words  but  these,  ''  I  am  dying,"  he  finished  his  work,  and 
went  to  his  reward.  By  such  a  man,  in  such  a  spirit,  and  fi'om 
the  fi-uits  of  such  a  work,  was  the  Second  Church  founded. 

The  revival  influences  continued  for  a  long  time,  and  the 
work  was  taken  up  by  other  hands.  The  infant  church  was 
made  up  of  the  best  materials  that  could  be  gathered  into  its 
organization,  but  needed  at  once  some  master-hand  to  give 
shape  and  direction  to  its  energies  and  life. 

Attention  was  turned  to  Gilbert  Tennent,  and  he  was 
called.  He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Armagh,  in  Ireland, 
in  1703,  and  came  with  his  father  to  America  when  fourteen 
years  of  age.  He  studied  with  his  father,  received  a  degree 
from  Yale  in  1725,  and  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia  in  1726.  He  was  settled  at  New  Brunswick,  and 
his  preaching  excited  great  attention  from  the  very  commence- 
ment of  his  ministry.  His  fame  reached  to  England  and 
/Scotland. 

Nillison,  of  Dundee,  says  :  — 

*' In  the  year  1740,  Mr.  Whitefield  went  to  New  England, 
**  and  Mr.  Gilbert  Tennent  after  him,  where  they  preached  two 
"or  three  times  a  day  with  singular  and  extraordinary  sue- 


80  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

"  cess,  the  people  being  greatly  awakened,  especially  by  Mr. 
"  Tennent's  preaching,  so  that  there  followed  a  remarkable 
''  change  upon  their  lives,  and  a  wonderful  revival  and  appear- 
**  ance  of  religion  through  all  that  country  for  several  years. 
"  The  like  also  was  very  observable  in  Pennsylvania  and  the 
"  Jerseys  about  the  same  time." 

This,  doubtless,  was  a  distant  echo  of  that  celebrated  preach- 
ing tour   in   New  England  in   1740,  and  the   great  work  in 
Philadelphia.     Tennent  reached  Boston  December  13th,  and 
preached  to  great  crowds  almost  daily  for  three  months.    The 
results  were  indeed  extraordinary.     Mr.  Prince,  the  minister  of 
the  Old  South  Church,  describes  his  manner  as  "both  terrible 
"and  searching.     By  his  rousing  and  spiritual  preaching  deep 
"  and  pungent  convictions  were  wrought  in  the  minds  of  many 
*'  hundreds  in  the  town,  and  the  same  effect  was  produced  in 
*'  several  scores  in  the  neighboring  congregations.     And  now 
"  was  such  a  time  as  we  never  knew.     The  Rev.  Mr.  Cooper 
"  said  that  more  came  to  him  in  one  week  in  deep  concern 
"  than  in  the  whole  twenty-four  years  of  his  preceding  min- 
"  istry.     I   can   say  also   the   same   as   to   the   numbers  who 
"  repaired  to  me." 

Such  was  the  man  called  to  the  first  pastorate  of  the  Second 
Churcli,   after  sixteen   years   of  experience   as   preacher  and 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  8  I 

pastor.  He  commenced  his  work  in  May,  1743.  He  some- 
what calmed  down  in  these  days,  and  lamented  his  "  extrava- 
**  gancy  in  discarding  a  wig,  and  in  wearing  his  hair  loose 
"  and  unpowdered,  with  a  great  coat  belted  with  a  leathern 
"  belt,  during  his  preaching  tour  in  New  England." 

*' It  is  related,  that  in  1747  a  French  privateer  came  into 
"  Delaware  Bay.  The  citizens  of  Philadelphia  met  in  the  new 
*'  meeting-house,  and  formed  an  association  for  defence.  Ten- 
*'nent  preached  to  them  from  Exodus  xv.  :  3:  — '  TJie  Lord 
^^  ^  is  a  man  of  zuarj  " 

When  the  British  army  entered  Philadelphia  in  1778,  it  was 
greatly  in  want  of  paper  for  cartridges,  and  only  after  a  long 
search  could  any  be  obtained.  At  last  there  were  found,  in 
the  garret  of  a  house  where  Benjamin  Franklin  previously 
had  his  printing  office,  twenty-five  hundred  copies  of  this 
sermon  on  "  Defensive  War,"  which  had  been  printed  by 
Franklin..    These  were  all  taken,  and  speedily  used  to  wrap 

)  cartridges,  which  won  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 
'    The  first  house  occupied  by  the  Second  Church  was  the 

s-  "large  brick  building"  built  by  the  multitude  for  Whitefield, 
and  for  the  "use  of  itinerant  preachers  forever."     In   1750, 

'  this  building  was  sold  for  an  Academy,  which  in    1779  bc- 
_  came  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 


82  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

The  congregation  soon  procured  a  site  at  Third  and  Arch 
streets,  and  Tennent  set  himself  to  the  work  of  erecting  a 
new  house  for  the  worship  of  God.  He  went  to  Franklin,  to 
ask  whom  he  should  call  upon  for  help.  Franklin  told  him 
to  call  on  everybody.  With  unceasing  energy  he  prosecuted 
the  work,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  the  congregation  en- 
tered the  new  structure. 

A  note  says  :  — 

"The  new  Presbyterian  church  in  Philadelphia,  a  large, 
"  elegant,  and  stately  fabric,  owes  its  erection  to  the  inde- 
"  fatigable  industry  of  Gilbert  Tennent,  by  which  he  procured 
"  the  greatest  part  of  the  money  in  benefactions,  though  the 
"house  cost  some  thousands." 

At  the  dedication  two  sermons  were  preached  by  the  pastor, 
in  which  he  says  :  — 

"  Divine  Providence  has  appeared  surprisingly  in  the  course 
"  and  series  of  these  transactions.  We  were  brought  at  first 
"  under  a  sudden,  unexpected,  and  urgent  necessity  of  en- 
"  deavoring  to  get  a  house  for  ourselves  to  worship  God  in, 
"the  issue  of  which,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  the  enterprise, 
"  and  the  low  state  of  the  generality  of  your  society,  appeared 
"  not  only  very  doubtful  and  precarious,  but,  without  assis- 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  83 


"  tance  from  others,  entirely  impossible.  This,  of  course,  af- 
''  fected  the  minds  of  some  with  fear  and  solicitude  for  the 
*•  event.  But  it  has  pleased  a  gracious  God  to  dissipate  our 
''  fears,  and  to  turn  that  which  seemed  to  threaten  our  dissolu- 
"  tion  into  the  probable  means  of  establishing  the  society  for 
"a  long  time  to  come.  The  glorious  sovereignty  of  the 
*'  Divine  Providence  is  seen  in  fixing  the  place  where  the 
"  church  now  stands ;  a  situation  in  respect  to  free  air  in  the 
''  Summer,  warmth  in  the  Winter,  and  open  prospect,  is  perhaps 
''not  inferior  to  any  in  the  City.  A  kind  Providence  has 
"  mercifully  appeared  in  inclining  the  hearts  of  a  considerable 
"  number  of  our  own  people  to  contribute  generously  to  erect 
''a  house  for  God;  and  Divine  Providence  has  been  still  more 
''  conspicuous  in  inclining  many  worthy  gentlemen  of  other 
"  societies  to  befriend  and  assist  us  with  their  generous  dona- 
"  tions  ;  and  I  do  gladly  embrace  this  public  opportunity,  to 
"  thank  in  the  most  respectful  manner,  in  the  name  and  behalf 
'''  of  this  Society,  His  Honor  the  Governor,  The  Honorable 
*Hhe  Chief  Justice,  the  Secretary  of  this  Province,  and  The 
,."  Worshipful  the  Mayor  and  Recorder  of  this  City,  and  all 
''the  Honorable  Gentlemen  of  the  Council  and  Assembly,  and 
"of  every  other  station  and  character  in  life,  who  have  con 
"tri'buted  to  the  building  of  this  church." 


84  1743- THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 8/6. 

For  twenty  years  this  faithful  servant  of  God  labored  for 
this  church,  and  his  whole  ministry  was  marked  with  striking 
diligence  and  success.     On  the  23rd  of  July,  1764,  he  died. 

Dr.  Finley,  in  his  funeral  sermon,  says  of  him  :  — 

**  As  to  his  person,  he  was  taller  than  the  common  size,  and 
*'  every  way  proportionable.  His  aspect  was  grave  and  ven- 
'*  erable,  but  he  was  eminently  affable,  condescending,  and 
"  communicative.  He  was  of  a  truly  public  spirit,  and  warmly 
"interested  himself  in  whatever  seemed  to  contribute  to  the 
*' safety  and  advantage  of  the  Province.  He  was  an  example 
"of  great  fortitude  and  unshaken  resolution.  Difficulties 
"were  so  far  from  dispiriting,  that  they  rather  animated  him 
"  in  his  efforts.  A  great  part  of  his  life  was  a  scene  of  un- 
**  remitted  labor.  He  studied  hard,  traveled  much,  and 
"preached  often.  As  a  preacher,  few  equaled  him  in  his 
"vigorous  days.  His  reasoning  powers  were  strong;  his 
"  thoughts  nervous,  and  often  sublime  ;  his  style,  flowery  and 
"  diffusive  ;  his  manner  of  address,  warm  and  pathetic,  such 
"  as  must  convince  his  audience  that  he  was  in  earnest,  and 
"  his  voice  clear  and  commanding.  In  a  word,  all  things 
"conspired  to  make  him  a  judicious,  zealous,  popular,  and 
"  pungent  preacher." 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  85 


John  Murray  was  called  as  the  second  pastor.  He  re- 
mained but  a  single  year.  He  afterwards  settled  in  Newbury- 
port,  in  Massachusetts,  where  he  established  a  reputation  as 
an  able  and  devoted  minister.  A  vacancy  of  three  years  fol- 
lowed, when  Rev.  James  Sproat  was  called  as  the  third  pastor. 

James  Sproat  was  born  in  Scituate,  Massachusetts,  in  1722. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  young,  and  he  was  left  in  charge 
of  a  small  farm,  in  company  with  an  Indian  named  Tom  Felix, 
to  whom  he  was  strongly  attached.     At  thirteen,  his  widowed 
mother  proposed  he  should  try  to  get  an  education,  and  fit 
himself  for   usefulness.     After   many   struggles,  the  greatest 
of  which  seemed  to  be  the  separation  from  his  Indian  com- 
panion and  friend,  he  entered  Yale.      He  was  young  and  gay, 
and  found  new  companions  in  college,  who  were  much  like 
himself,  and  in  the  society  of  these  new  friends  he  soon  lost 
the   impressions  which   his   pious   mother's   instructions  had 
made  upon  his  mind.     About  this  time  Gilbert  Tennent  made 
.'his  tour  through  New  England,  and  stopped  at  New  Haven. 
His  fame  as  one  of  the  "new  light"  preachers  had  reached 
.Yale  College.     Before  his  coming,  the  class  to  which  young 
Sproat  belonged  arranged  a  plan  for  brow-beating  Tennent, 
•by  placing   him   in  a  ridiculous   light.     They  dressed  them- 
selves very  gaily,  and  went   into   the   front   of  the   gallery, 


S6  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

directly  opposite  to  the  preacher,  and  all  stood,  looking  di- 
rectly at  him.  The  text  was  Matthew  v.:  20:  —  ''Except 
''your  rigliteoiisness  shall  exceed  the  rigJiteousness  of  the  scribes 
"  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  zvise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
'^  heaven^  In  explaining  the  passage,  he  gave  an  interesting 
account  of  the  scribes  and  pharisees,  and  then,  addressing  his 
hearers,  he  said  with  peculiar  emphasis  :  —  "If  your  right- 
**  eousness  does  not  exceed  theirs  you  will  be  damned^'  strik- 
ing the  pulpit  violently  as  he  pronounced  the  word  "damned." 
The  word,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  pronounced,  the 
vehemence  of  gesture  which  accompanied  it,  had  such  an 
effect  upon  Sproat  and  several  others  of  the  class  that  they 
sat  down,  and  did  not  lift  their  heads  during  the  remainder  of 
the  sermon.  When  Sproat  returned  to  the  college  from  the 
meeting,  he  went  to  his  room,  locked  the  door,  and  in  great 
distress  threw  himself  upon  the  floor.  His  distress  continued 
through  the  night,  and  the  next  day  he  went  to  see  and  con- 
verse with  Mr.  Tennent.  When  he  came  to  the  house  where 
he  lodged,  he  walked  three  or  four  times  around  it  before  he 
could  persuade  himself  to  enter.  At  length  he  went  in,  and 
ventured  to  make  known  his  distress.  Mr.  Tennent  receiv^ed 
him  kindly,  and  earnestly  presented  the  way  of  salvation 
through  Christ. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  8/ 

This  account,  which  I  find  in  an  old  manuscript,  which 
seems  to  have  been  written  many  years  afterwards,  ends  with 
these  words  :  —  ''So  Sproat  himself  became  one  of  the  '  new 
"'lights,'  although  he  had  despised  them  so  much  before." 

He  graduated  in  1741,  and  went  at  once  to  Northampton 
to  study  theology  with  Mr.  Edwards,  boarding  with  a  French 
family,  by  whom  he  was  instructed  in  the  French  language. 
He  first  preached  in  Albany,  New  York,  and  from  there  went 
into  Connecticut,  and  in  the  first  town  where  he  preached  he 
was  arrested  as  a  vagrant,  for  preaching  in  that  colony  without 
permission  from  the  minister  of  the  parish.  He  was  handed 
from  constable  to  constable  until  he  reached  Saybrook.  The 
constable  there  was  a  "  new  light,"  and  when  he  understood 
that  young  Sproat  had  been  apprehended  as  a  "new  light" 
nriinister,  he  dismissed  him,  telling  him  he  might  go  where  he 
pleased.  He  went  to  Guilford,  where  he  was  favorably  re- 
ceived by  a  number  of  the  inhabitants,  who  formed  themselves 
into  a  church,  and  called  him  to  be  their  minister.  They 
btiilt  a  meeting-house  for  him,  and  he  was  ordained  and  settled 
^August  23,  1743.  In  this  church  he  labored  for  twenty-five 
years  with  eminent  zeal  and  success. 

From  Guilford  he  was  called  to  Philadelphia,  and  March 
30th,   1769,  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 


88  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

Church.  Under  his  ministry  the  church  prospered,  and  passed 
safely  through  the  trying  vicissitudes  incident  to  the  war  and 
the  occupation  of  the  City  by  the  British.  Some  notices  of 
his  preaching  and  work  were  made  by  John  Adams,  who  was 
attending  the  meetings  of  Congress  in  Philadelphia,  and  be- 
came the  second  President  of  the  United  States. 

September  4th,  1774,  Mr.  Adams  says:  —  "Went  to  the 
*'  Presbyterian  meeting,  and  heard  Mr.  Sproat,  in  the  forenoon. 
"  He  uses  no  notes,  opens  his  bible,  and  talks  away."  On  the 
eleventh  (the  following  Sabbath):  —  "Mr.  Jo.  Reed,  a  very 
*'  sensible  and  accomplished  lawyer,  was  so  kind  as  to  wait 
"  on  us  to  Mr.  Sproat's  meeting.  We  had  an  opportunity  of 
"  seeing  the  custom  of  the  Presb}'terians  in  administering  the 
"  sacrament.  The  communicants  all  came  to  a  row  of  seats 
"  placed  on  each  side  of  a  narrow  table,  spread  in  the  middle 
"  of  the  alley,  reaching  from  the  deacon's  scat  to  the  front 
*'  of  the  house.  Each  communicant  has  a  token,  which  he 
*'  delivers  to  the  deacons." 

September  17th,  1775  :  —  "  Heard  Sproat  on  Titus  iii.  :  5. 
"There  is  a  great  deal  of  simplicity  and  innocence  in  this 
"  worthy  man,  but  very  little  eloquence  or  ingenuity.  In 
"  prayer  he  hangs  his  head  in  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees 
"  over  his  left  shoulder.    lu  sermon,  which  is  delivered  without 


1743- THE   OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  89 

"  notes,  he  throws  himself  into  a  variety  of  postures.  He 
"  has  no  imagination,  no  passions,  but  a  great  deal  of  good- 
"  ness  of  heart." 

Two  years  later,  Mr.  Adams  thought  enough  of  this  good 
man  and  minister  to  go  to  his  house  to  board.  September 
12,  1777:  —  "I  removed  from  Captain  Duncan's  in  Walnut 
"  street,  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sproat's,  in  Third  street,  a  few  doors 
**  from  his  meeting  house.  Mr.  Marchant,  of  Rhode  Island, 
''boards  there  with  me.  Mr.  Sproat  is  sick  of  a  fever.  Mrs. 
"  Sproat  and  the  four  young  ladies,  his  daughters,  are  in  great 
"  distress  on  account  of  his  sickness  and  the  approach  of 
"  Howe's  army."  Howe's  army  was  then  at  Middletown,  in 
Lancaster  county,  waiting  for  his  ships  to  come  into  the 
Delaware.  Soon  after,  Congress  was  obliged  to  fly  from 
Philadelphia,  and  John  Adams  and  his  good  friend  were 
separated. 

In  1793,.  Philadelphia  suffered  from  the  terrible  scourges  of 
the  yellow  fever.  It  raged  in  its  most  malignant  form,  and 
the  mortality  was  appalling.  Fear  was  on  every  side,  and  the 
-^panic  so  great,  that  the  dead  were  hurried  to  the  grave  in 
hearses  and  carts  without  attendants.  But  this  noble  man 
and  faithful  minister  stood  at  his  post.  A  thousand  fell  at  his 
side,  his  neighbors  and   friends  were  stricken  down,  and   at 


go  1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 18/6. 

length  the  pestilence  crossed  his  own  threshold.  Within  a 
month  his  eldest  son,  his  son's  wife,  and  his  youngest  daugh- 
ter, died. 

In  a  letter  to  an  absent  son  he  says  :  — 

"Dear  John:  —  Your  poor  old  trembling  father  must  be 
"  the  sorrowful  messenger  of  grief  upon  grief  to  you.  Your 
"  brother  William  is  no  more.  I  shall  attend  his  remains  to 
"the  grave  at  six  o'clock.  Maria  knows  not  of  her  husband's 
"  death.  Your  mother,  exceedingly  feeble,  has  not  been  able 
"  to  sec  her  son.     We  are  all  dying  in  the  City.-' 

The  son's  wife  soon  followed ;  and  a  little  later,  the  feeble 
mother  and  the  poor  old  trembling  father,  were  both  laid  in 
the  grave.  Amid  these  distressing  scenes,  it  was  touching  to 
see  the  respect  shown  to  the  memory  of  this  eminent  servant 
of  God.  Some  religious  negroes  voluntarily  offered  to  carry 
the  bier  to  the  grave.  The  pious  people  who  met  at  the 
church  for  prayer  found  a  procession  of  about  fift)'  persons, 
and  "  this  was  more  startling  to  the  beholders,  in  the  circum- 
"  stances  in  which  it  happened,  than  the  most  splendid  funeral 
"that  perhaps  the  City  ever  witnessed." 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.         9I 

Mr.  Thomas  Bradford  says  :  — 

"  I  remember  Dr.  Sproat  as  a  venerable  looking-  man.  (Dr. 
**  Sproat  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  the 
**  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1780.)  He  always  wore  the  wig 
''  and  the  cocked  hat,  according  to  the  usage  of  aged  ministers 
*'  of  that  period.  He  possessed  a  benevolent  countenance;  his 
**  manners  were  gentle  and  courteous  ;  his  speech  conciliating 
*'  and  kind,  especially  toward  the  youthful  part  of  his  flock, 
*'  who  were  attracted  to  him  by  his  paternal  and  affectionate 
"  treatment  of  them." 

Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  who  was  for  a  time  a  co-pastor,  and  who 
succeeded  him  in  the  pastorate  of  the  church,  says  :  — 

'*  On  all  occasions  he  treated  me  like  a  father,  and  like  a 
*  father  I  loved  and  honored  him.  In  scholastic  attainments 
'  he  was  a  good  proficient,  and  a  considerable  master  of  the 
'  learned  languages.  He  loved  all  the  pursuits  and  interests 
'  of  science,  and  in  the  study  of  divinity  made  a  progress  that 
'  was  truly  great  and  enviable.  In  his  personal  religion  he 
'  was  truly  eminent,  and  after  his  fiftieth  year  in  the  ministry 
'  he  spent  much  time  in  private  devotion.  In  his  sore  domes- 
'  tic  afflictions  his  Christian  fortitude  and  trust  were  remark- 
''  able.      Trembling   with   age,   and   with   the    fearful    disease 


92  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 

"which  was  to  end  his  life  already  upon  him,  he  followed  his 
**  dead  son  to  the  grave,  and  leaning  upon  his  staff,  as  he 
"  looked  upon  the  body  lying  at  rest,  he  said  :  —  "  The  Lord 
''  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the  name 
"  of  the  Lord."  As  he  drew  near  himself  to  die,  he  said  :  — 
"  All  my  expectations  for  eternity  rest  on  the  infinite  grace  of 
"  God,  abounding  through  the  finished  righteousness  of  our 
'' Lord  Jesus." 

Such  men  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Second  Church,  and 
each  built  in  his  time  on  the  chief  corner-stone.  They  were 
men  of  most  pronounced  character  and  undoubted  success. 
Master-workmen,  who  did  not  build  of  hay,  wood,  and 
stubble,  or  daub  with  untempered  mortar.  The-  doctrines  of 
the  reformation  were  preached  with  great  fidelity  and  power, 
and  God  gave  the  increase.  The  small  beginning  grew  till  it 
became  a  tree  which  shadowed  the  land.  And  when  these 
servants  of  God  had  finished  their  work,  and  slept  with  their 
fathers,  God  raised  up  others  to  take  their  place,  and  the 
succession  never  has  been  broken. 


IV. 


Joliix  iv. :    Sr,  38. 


"  And  herein  is  that  saying  true,  One  sozueth,  and  another  reapeth.  I  sent 
"you  to  reap  that  whereon  ye  bestowed  no  labor  :  other  men  labored,  and  ye  are 
"entered  into  their  labors.^'' 


LL  men  are  workers.     Labor  Is  the  law,  and  toil  the 

^=j^^Q     duty,  of  human  life.      Every  man  has   something 

to  do  in  this  world,  and  will   have  both  post  and 

service  assigned.     He  must  serve  his  generation,  then  fall  on 

sleep,  and  his  work  pass  to  other  hands.     No  workers  could 

'  ask   for   better    conditions,   or   more    helpful    appliances,    or 

greater  rewards,  than  belong  to  honest  labor  and  lawful  call- 

^*  ings  on  this  earth. 

So  there  is  a  proper  distribution  and  apportionment.     La- 

■  borers  in  every  field,  suited  for  every  service,  and  provided 

,for  every  age.     One   generation  passeth  away,  and  another 


94  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. I  8/6. 

Cometh,  and  yet  each,  in  its  own  time,  has  its  own  proper 
work  to  do.  There  is  a  succession  of  laborers,  as  times,  and 
seasons,  and  centuries  come  and  go.  One  soweth,  and  an- 
other reapeth.  One  man  plants  a  tree,  and  another  eats  the 
fruit  thereof.  No  one  man  can  do  all,  and  no  generation 
live  to  enjoy  wholly  the  fruit  of  its  own  labors.  We  build 
for  others  to  inhabit  ;  make  highways  over  which  the  nations 
who  are  to  come  after  us,  are  to  pass.  We  do  the  work,  and 
build  the  structures  which  are  needful  for  our  time,  and 
suited  to  present  necessities,  or  the  state  of  human  knowledge ; 
but  we  complete  nothing.  We  take  up  the  work  where 
others  left  it,  and  others,  in  turn,  will  lift  the  burden  which 
we  lay  down. 

In  the  Egyptian  quarries  we  find  the  tools  of  the  workmen 
that  were  used  under  Pharoah's  task-masters,  and  after  lying 
idle  for  four  thousand  years,  other  hands  take  them  up.  Not 
wholly  suited  to  our  time  and  need;  but  they  embody  the 
thought  of  the  ancient  time,  and  have  survived  to  show  how 
the  ages  are  linked  together,  and  the  works  of  men  pass  from 
hand  to  hand,  and  improve  from  age  to  age. 

Ages  have  been  sowing  seed.  The  good  which  men  do, 
and  the  evil,  live  after  them.  So  relays  of  toilers,  strength  of 
burden-bearers  and  brain  workers  decays,  and  they  must  be 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  95 

relieved.  Nearly  three  generations  of  men  wrought  on  the 
Cathedral  at  Cadiz,  in  Spain.  The  Duomo  at  Cologne  is  not  yet 
finished,  though  the  foundations  were  laid  more  than  six  hun- 
dred years  ago.  The  Minster,  at  York,  has  the  old  Saxon 
crypts  that  were  built  a  thousand  years  ago. 

Works  begun  by  their  projectors  are  rarely  finished.  Dis- 
coveries made  by  one  man  are  unfolded  or  applied  by  another. 
Principles  are  suggested  or  evolved  in  one  generation,  which 
take  practical  form  and  use  in  the  next.  Inventions  are  an- 
nounced and  put  to  use  ;  others  study  them,  improve  upon 
the  suggestions,  make  new  applications,  and  adapt  to  uses  of 
which  the  original  inventor  had  no  thought.  So  of  our  in- 
tellectual wealth.  Our  libraries  are  garners  where  the  harvests 
of  six  thousand  years  are  stored.  Cities  are  built  by  succes- 
sive generations.  Churches  grow,  families  spread,  and  become 
great,  as  the  ages  pass. 

Men  like  Gilbert  Tennent,  John  Murray,  and  James  Sproat, 

succeed  each  other  on  the  same  field,  each  entering  into  the 

labors  of  those  who  went  before,  and   leaving  the  field  when 

^•his  own  work  was  done,  to  be  cultivated  and  reaped  by  those 

who  should  come  after  him. 

Forty-six  years-  of  the  history  of  the  Second  Church  had 
passed  when  James  Sproat  died,  and  Ashbel  Green  succeeded 


96  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

to  the  pastorate.  He  was  born  at  Hanover,  New  Jersey,  in 
1762,  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1783.  He 
was  the  valedictorian  of  his  class,  and  had  the  honor  of  an 
address  to  the  Father  of  his  Country,  George  Washington, 
for  which  he  received  the  personal  thanks  of  the  first  Presi- 
dent, and  was  soon  after  invited  to  dine  with  Congress,  then 
sitting  at  Princeton. 

On  graduating,  at  nineteen,  Mr.  Green  was  chosen  Tutor, 
and  two  years  later,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy.  In  1787  he  became  the  colleague  of  Dr.  Sproat, 
and  received,  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

With  a  vigorous  intellect,  thoroughly  trained,-  eloquent  in 
speech,  and  masterly  in  debate.  Dr.  Green  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  ecclesiastical  assemblages  of  the  church,  where  his 
influence  was  profoundly  great.  If  he  did  not  originate  mea- 
sures of  the  first  importance,  he  had  an  important  share  in 
their  introduction  and  settlement.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  at 
heart,  and  his  entire  life  was  most  closely  identified  with  the 
local  and  general  interests  of  the  church  of  his  faith  and  love. 
Trained  in  hci*  best  schools,  and  under  a  man  like  Wither- 
spoon,  with  a  natural  firmness  and  prompt  decision  of  character, 
he  soon  made  his  way  to  leadership,  and  compelled  profound 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  9/ 


respect  from  both  friends  and  enemies.  While  officiating  as 
Chaplain  to  the  Senate  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  the  Speaker 
called  the  House  to  order  for  prayer.  A  Senator  continued 
writing  at  his  desk.  Dr.  Green  stood  silent  until  the  irrever- 
ent Senator!  startled  by  the  prolonged  silence,  rose  to  his  feet, 
and  gave  at  least  an  outward  respect  to  the  worship  of  God. 
Dr.  Green's  influence  was  felt  in  the  National  Councils. 
President  Adams,  who  had  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  Dr. 
Sproat,  and  found  a  home  in  his  family,  was  drawn  also  to 
Dr.  Green.  On  an  imminent  occasion  he  requested  Dr.  Green 
to  write  for  him  a  proclamation  recommending  to  the  people 
the  observance  of  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer.  The 
proclamation  was  written,  and  embodied  the  leading  doctrines 
of  the  gospel.  It  passed  through  the  hands  of  Timothy 
Pickering,  who  was  then  Secretary  or  State,  and  believed  to 
be  a  Unitarian ;  but  it  was  published  without  alteration, 
creating  great  surprise  and  admiration. 

.'•  .    Dr.  Green  was  eminent  for  his  personal  piety.     The  first 
Monday  of  every  month   was   observed  as  a  day  of  fasting, 

-•  humiliation,  and  prayer.      Three  times  a  day  he  retired  regu- 
larly   for   private     devotion.       Every    Monday    morning    his 

•  brethren  in  the  ministry  were  invited  to  meet  at  his  house  for 
, reading  the  Scriptures,  and  united   prayer.     His  simple    and 


98         1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876. 

fervent  piety  made  him  faithful  to  all  trusts,  and  punctual  in 
all  engagements.  He  was  scrupulously  careful  in  pecuniary 
transactions.  In  his  charities  he  acted  from  principle,  not 
impulse.  One-tenth  of  his  income  he  gave  to  the  Lord,  and 
when  occasion  seemed  to  require,  he  added  largely  to  this 
tithe. 

In  October,  1803,  he  was  unanimously  elected  by  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  to  a  Professorship  of  The- 
ology in  that  Institution ;  but  he  chose  to  remain  with  his 
church,  in  Philadelphia. 

As  a  preacher,  Dr.  Green  took  high  rank.  He  loved  the 
pulpit,  and  says,  in  one  of  his  letters  to   his   colleague  :  — 

"  There  is  no  employment  in  this  world  that  I  love  half  as 
''  well  as  preaching.  For  this  I  left  an  honorable  literary 
"  establishment  at  Princeton,  when  I  went  to  Philadelphia ; 
"  for  this  I  have  refused  some  flattering  offers  of  a  similar  kind 
"  since ;  and  for  this,  I  would,  I  think,  cheerfully  refuse  every 
"  offer  to  the  end  of  life,  that  would  detach  mc  from  it,  and 
**from  the  people  whom  I  love." 

This  love  for  the  pulpit  and  preaching,  combined  with  his 
large  intellectual  endowments,  his  ardent  piety,  and  his  rich 
Christian  experience,  qualified  him  in  an  eminent  degree  to  be 
a  useful   public   teacher.     He  wrote   his   sermons   with  great 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  99 


care,  and  ''  made  them  at  once  doctrinal,  practical,  and  experi- 
mental." 

Dr.  Samuel   Miller  writes  of  him  :  — 

''I  had,  when  a  student  in  the  University,  much  opportu- 
"nity  of  enjoying  his  ministry.  He  was  eminently  popular. 
*'No  ministers  in  the  City  approached  him  in  this  respect. 
''  Crowds  flocked  to  hear  him  —  more  than  the  place  of  wor- 
''  ship  could  contain.  His  evening  services,  specially,  were 
"  attended  by  all  denominations  ;  and  that  not  once,  or  a  few 
*'  times  only,  but  from  one  year's  end  to  another,  and  for  a 
*'  course  of  years,  with  unabating  interest.  And  truly  his 
*'  discourses  were  so  rich  in  weighty  thought,  so  beautiful  in 
"  their  language,  and  so  powerful  in  delivery,  that  they  were 
'[  well  adapted  to  gratify  all  hearers  of  intelligence  and  of 
"  pious  taste." 

As  A  pastor,  he  was  earnest  and  faithful.  The  young  he  in- 
structed at  stated  times  in  the  shorter  catechism,  and  his 
"  volumes  of  lectures  on  that  inimitable  synopsis  of  Christian 
.faith,  are  among  the  classics  of  the  Church.  As  he  was  able, 
he  visited  the  people  at  their  homes;  but  as  he  grew  more 
•infirm  with  increasing  years,  he  was  obliged  to  forego  this 
pleasure  and  duty. 


100        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 

In  1 8 12  Dr.  Green  was  called  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey.  After  the  most  earnest  deliberation, 
and  under  the  advice  of  most  trusted  friends,  he  accepted  the 
appointment.  He  remained  in  this  service  for  ten  years, 
when  his  health  becoming  more  infirm,  he  resigned  his 
position,  and  returned  to  Philadelphia. 

In  this  City  of  his  early  labors  and  greatest  successes,  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  preaching  the  gospel  to  the 
poor,  preparing  his  works  for  the  press,  and  editing  the 
Christian  Advocate,  a  periodical  which  did  eminent  service  for 
the  cause  of  truth  and  the  Church  of  God.  He  lived  till 
1848,  and  while  the  General  Assembly  w^as  in  session  at 
Baltimore,  he  peacefully  closed  his  life  on  earth,  and  entered 
into  rest.  His  death  was  announced  to  that  body  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Cuyler,  then  pastor  of  the  Second  Church,  and  a  large 
committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  suitable  minute  in 
regard  to  his  death.  He  was  for  twenty-eight  years  the 
pastor  of  this  church,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-six. 

In  1794,  Rev.  John  N.  Abeel,  was  called  as  colleague  with 
Dr.  Green.  He  was  a  pupil,  both  before,  and  after,  entering 
college,  and  Dr.  Green  had  formed  a  strong  attachment  for 
him.     After  two  years,  Mr.  Abeel  received  a  call  to  a  Reformed 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        JOI 

Dutch  Church  in  New  York  City,  which  he  accepted,  and  his 
connection  with  the  Second  Church  was  dissolved.  Though 
the  time  of  his  service  was  short,  yet  during  his  stay,  Mr. 
Abeel  took  an  important  part  of  the  work.  He  was  eminent 
as  a  minister,  and  faithful  as  a  pastor.  Possessed  of  fine 
talents,  highly  cultivated,  with  extraordinary  colloquial  gifts, 
he  was  everywhere  welcomed,  both  as  pastor  and  friend.  By 
untiring  study,  and  the  most  diligent  application,  he  gathered 
large  stores  of  knowledge,  which  he  made  greatly  useful,  both 
in  public  labors  and  social  intercourse.  His  style  was  plain 
and  simple,  but  his  sermons  were  profound  and  effective.  He 
delighted  to  dwell  on  "  Christian  experience,  in  which  he  was 
"  always  animated  and  interesting,  rising  often  to  uncommon 
"elegance  of  diction,  and  to  true  eloquence." 
.  He  suffered  much  from  ill-heahh,  and  visited  South  Caro- 
lina and  Brazil,  with  hope  of  benefit,  if  not  entire  restoration. 
He  continued  to  fail,  however,  and  returned  to  New  York, 
where  he  died  in  1812. 

'  Dr.  Jacob  Jones  Janeway,  was  installed  the  sixth  pastor  of 

sthis  church,  in  1799.     Born  in  the  City  of  New  York,  in  1744, 

he  was  surrounded  by  the  highest  religious  influences  from  his 

■  earliest  youth.     It  was  the  hope  of  an  eminently  pious  mother 

that  her  son  should  enter  the  niinistry. 


I02        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  8/6. 

During  his  college  course  his  mind  was  strongly  inclined 
to  the  medical  profession,  but  before  graduating,  having  been 
much  exercised  on  religious  subjects,  and  after  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer,  he  decided  upon  the  great  life  work,  to  which, 
from  that  time,  he  devoted  himself  with  untiring  energy  and 
zeal. 

In  November,  1797,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Classis  of  New 
York,  and  was  soon  called  to  the  co-pastorate  with  Dr.  Green, 
who  was  then  in  the  very  height  of  his  popularity  and  in- 
tellectual strength.  Philadelphia  was,  at  that  time,  the  fore- 
most city  of  the  land ;  one  third  larger  in  population  than 
New  York,  with  an  immense  trade  with  India  and  China. 
The  Second  Church  was,  at  this  time,  in  its  strength,  eminent 
for  the  character  of  its  ministers,  and  scarcely  less  so  for 
the  remarkable  men  of  its  eldership.  It  was  the  generation 
of  Latimer,  Jordan,  Smith,  Henry,  Ralston,  and  others  like 
them.  It  was  with  such  men,  and  such  a  pastor,  that  young 
Janeway  came  at  three  and  twenty  to  take  his  place.  With- 
out experience  in  pastoral  work  ;  without  trial  as  a  preacher, 
he  was  to  enter  upon  his  duties  in  a  congregation  of  intelli- 
gent and  learned  men,  and  make  his  way  to  the  hearts  of 
his  people,  and  to  usefulness  in  the  City.  It  is  something 
to  say,  for  this  youthful  preacher,  that  with  such  a  beginning, 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  IO3 

and  such  a  work  before  him,  he  held  his  position  with  grow- 
ing influence  and  power,  for  nearly  thirty  years. 

To  this  servant  of  God,  we  are  largely  indebted  for  the 
formation  of  the  Bible  Society,  which  has  grown  into  such  a 
power,  and  extended  its  influence  over  the  world.  In  1808, 
associated  with  Dr.  Green,  Robert  Ralston,  and  Dr.  Benjamin 
Rush,  a  call  was  issued  for  a  meeting,  a  constitution  prepared, 
—  which  was  subsequently  adopted  —  and  this  work  fully 
organized  and  set  forward.  Dr.  Janeway  did  much  also  for 
the  inauguration  of  the  Foreign  Mission  work.  It  was  from 
Philadelphia,  that  Gordon  Hall,  Samuel  Nott,  and  Luther 
Rice  embarked  for  Hindoostan,  as  the  first  missionaries  to  a 
foreign  field  from  the  American  church.  He  records  the  sail- 
ing of  the  ship,  and  his  gratitude  to  God  for  the  liberal  con- 
tributions made  by  the  Philadelphia  churches  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  missionary  company.  He  was  much  interested 
in  the  work  of  Harriet  Newell,  and  made  a  large  donation 
for  the  work  in  which  she  was  engaged.  In  1814,  he  re- 
ceived an  urgent  call  to  New  Brunswick,  which  he  declined  ; 
but  fourteen  years  later  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  a 
professorship  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  at  Alleghany. 
He  remained  there  but  two  years,  however,  and  then  re- 
moved to   New   Brunswick,  where   he   settled  over  the  First 


104        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. —  I  876. 

Reformed   Dutch    Church.      With  this   church   he   remained 
until  his  work  on  earth  was  finished. 

On   Sabbath,  June  27,  1857,  just  before  the  setting  of  the 
sun,  he  died. 

Dr.  Janeway  was  a  man  of  simple  and  unostentatious  man- 
ners and  habits.  Modest  and  reserved,  he  never  made  him- 
self prominent  on  public  occasions,  or  forced  himself  into  the 
chief  seats.  The  church  heaped  honors  upon  him,  but  he 
was  as  if  he  knew  it  not.  He  was  remarkable  for  purity  of 
life  and  conversation.  Genial  and  kind  to  all,  he  sought  only 
the  comfort  and  well-being  of  those  about  him.  Gentleness 
was  the  law  of  his  heart  and  his  life.  He  was  a  life-long 
student.  He  sought  for  truth,  and  rejoiced  as  one  who  had 
taken  spoil,  when  he  found  it.  Logical,  rather  than  imagi- 
native, with  uncommon  reasoning  powers,  his  words  had 
great  force.  Eminent  for  deliberation  and  sound  judgment, 
he  was  a  wise  counsellor,  and  his  advice  was  usually  followed. 
The  theology  of  the  Bible  was  his  special  delight.  He  was 
not  ashamed  to  walk  in  the  old  paths,  or  follow  where  the 
mighty  had  trodden  before  him.  Speculations  and  Broad- 
Church  novelties  had  no  charms  for  him.  He  was  a  Calvinist 
in  the  best  sense.  The  sovereignt)^  of  God  was  the  great 
central  truth  around  which  his  studies  and  his  preaching  re- 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        IO5 

volved,  and  the  highest  joy  of  his  own  life.  He  was  a  la- 
borious man,  and  fulfilled  the  inspired  words  to  the  letter  :  — 
"  TJiey  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age.''  At  "  fourscore 
'*  he  was  publishing"  freshly  written  books."  As  a  preacher, 
he  was  remarkable  for  sound  common  sense  and  clear  exhib- 
itions of  truth,  and  must  have  been  popular  to  sustain  him- 
self so  long,  in  a  large  congregation  "  more  frequented  by 
"  strangers  than  any  other  in  the  City."  His  life  was  an 
important  factor  in  the  history  of  the  Second  Church,  and 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  City  in  which  he  la- 
bored so  long. 

In  April,  1813,  Thomas  Harvey  Skinner,  was  called  to 
the  Second  Church,  as  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Janeway,  and  re- 
mained until  the  autumn  of  18 16.  He  was  born  in  Perquini- 
ous  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1791.  He  entered  junior  at 
Princeton,  in  1807,  and  graduated  with  the  second  honor  at 
eighteen.  ,  He  at  once  commenced  the  study  of  law,  but  soon 
.meeting  with  an  entire  change  in  his  religious  views,  he  made 
u'p  his  mind  to  obtain  a  theological  education  and  enter  the 
^Presbyterian  ministry.  For  this  purpose  he  came  to  Philadel- 
phia, in  181 1,  to  place  himself  under  the  care  and  training  of 
Dr.  Green,  but  Dr:  Green  was  burdened  with  too  many  duties 
to  assume  such  a  charge,  and  advised  Princeton  or  Andover. 

H 


I06        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 

In  December,  1812,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery,  at 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  and  on  the  same  evening  preached  his  first 
sermon  at  Newark.  Soon  after,  he  left  to  return  to  the  South, 
and  passed  the  last  Sabbath  in  the  year  in  Philadelphia.  He 
preached  in  the  Tabernacle  in  Ranstead  court.  Dr.  Prentiss 
says  that  his  name  had  already  become  known  ;  and  after  the 
sermon  he  was  waited  upon  by  representatives  of  the  power- 
ful Second  Church,  Arch  street,  corner  of  Third,  who  urged 
him  to  preach  for  them  the  next  Sabbath.  He  consented  to 
do  so,  and  this  was  his  first  introduction  to  the  congregation 
of  which  he  was  soon  to  become  a  pastor.  **  After  preaching 
"  for  several  weeks,  he  resumed  his  journey  to  the  South. 
"  He  visited  Washington,  where  his  '  eloquent  and  faithful 
"  *  preaching  left  a  deep  and  most  salutary  impression.'  " 

After  visiting  his  friends  in  North  Carolina  he  returned  to 
Philadelphia,  and  was  ordained  as  co-pastor,  June  tenth,  18 13. 
The  position  was  a  most  trying  one.  Not  only  was  he  to  be 
associated  with  a  man  of  uncommon  power  and  influence,  but 
at  this  time  there  were  great  diversities  of  feeling  in  the 
churches  and  community.  The  "whole  atmosphere  was 
"  filled  with  suspicion."  There  were  sharp  debates,  fierce 
contentions,  and  ceaseless  strife  over  doctrines  and  usages. 
Excitement  ran  high,  and  into  the  swift  current  the  youthful 


1743- THE   OLD   AND    THE   NEW. 1 876.  IO7 

athlete  threw  himself  at  once,  and  soon  found  himself  the 
leader  of  a  party.  Dr.  Green,  then  President  of  Nassau 
Hall,  the  senior  pastor,  and  many  of  the  influential  members 
of  his  own  Church,  were  opposed  to  him.  He  became  a 
militant  pastor.  Earnest,  ardent,  full  of  zeal  for  his  adopted 
cause,  impatient  of  restraint,  and  restive  under  opposition,  his 
position  could  not  be  otherwise  than  uncomfortable. 

After  battling  in  the  very  thickest  of  the  conflict  for  three 
years  and  four  months,  he  resigned  his  place,  and  retired, 
with  some  families  who  were  strongly  attached  to  him,  to  the 
building  in  Locust  street,  where  he  was  installed  in  December, 
1816. 

Fifty  years  later  Dr.  Skinner  writes  of  this,  his  first  past- 
orate, in  Philadelphia :  — 

"  A  retrospect  of  my  ministry  in  the  Second  Presbyterian 
**  Church,  from  my  present  stand-point  in  time,  convinces  me 
^-  of  uncommon  imperfection  in  it  from  first  to  last.  I  fear  I 
**  was  in  rash  haste  to  undertake  it.  But  two  years  and  four 
*•  months  had  passed  from  the  date  of  my  conversion  ;  I  was 
"  in  the  early  part  of  my  twenty-second  year ;  the  church 
*-'  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  of  all  the  Presbyterian 
"  order ;    my  predecessor  was  a  patriarch  and  ruler  in  it  of 


io8  1743- — THE  old  and  the  new. — 1876. 

"high  distinction.  My  accepting  the  call  was  a  great  ven- 
**ture,  and  that  the  result  was  not  my  ruin,  was  of  the  amaz- 
"  ing  grace  of  God.  How  ought  I  to  praise  Him  that  I 
**  escaped  from  the  severe  ordeal  to  serve  Him,  in  the  minis- 
"  try,  for  nearly  half  a  century  afterwards.  My  preaching 
"  was  positive,  unpliable,  and  authoritative ;  there  was  too 
"  much  of  severity  and  terror  in  it  —  too  little  consideration 
"  of  my  youth  and  inexperience,  too  little  unction  and  gen- 
"tleness." 

From  Locust  street  the  Fifth  Church  moved  to  Arch  street 
above  Tenth,  and  in  that  new  field  Dr.  Skinner  did  the 
noblest  work  of  his  life.  Crowds  flocked  to  hear  him  preach, 
and  when  he  announced  a  series  of  doctrinaF  sermons,  had 
the  house  been  three  times  as  large,  it  could  not  have  held  the 
people  who  crowded  to  hear  them.  He  continued  there  for 
six  months.  The  effect  was  profound  and  wide-spread.  Tes- 
timonies of  confidence  and  sympathy  were  poured  in  from 
men  like  Dr.  Griffin,  Dr.  Richards,  and  Dr.  Spring.  Prince- 
ton smiled  upon  him,  and  b\^  nomination  of  Dr.  Green,  in 
the  General  Assembly,  he  was  made  a  Director  of  that  Sem- 
inary. For  eight  years  longer  he  continued  his  ministry  in 
Arch    street,   when    he    accepted    a    call   to    the    Pine    street 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  IO9 

Church,  in  Boston.  From  thence  he  went  to  Andover,  and 
subsequently  became  pastor  of  the  Mercer  street  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  New  York.  This  charge  he  resigned  in  1848  for 
a  professor's  chair  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  in 
New  York.  He  was  now  fifty-seven,  and  in  this  service 
he  remained  until  he  was  eighty,  when  the  Master  called  him 
to  go  up  higher,  and  receive  his  reward. 

Joseph  Sanford  was  the  eighth  pastor.  Born  in  1797,  in 
Fairfield,  Conn.  At  eight  years  of  age  he  became  a  Christian, 
and  made  a  public  profession  at  thirteen.  He  early  com- 
menced studies  for  the  ministry,  and  developed  an  uncommon 
talent  for  popular  addresses.  His  labors  in  times  of  special 
religious  interest  were  very  acceptable,  and  greatly  useful. 
He  pursued  his  primary  studies  in  Saratoga  County,  N.  Y., 
and  entered  Union  College  in  September,  18 17.  He  studied 
theology  at  Princeton.  In  April,  1823,  he  was  licensed  by 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  and  went  at  once  to  Montreal, 
where  he  preached  for  some  months  to  the  American  Pres- 
byterian Church.  In  his  short  visit  to  that  City,  he  endeared 
himself  to  God's  people,  and  his  labors  were  so  acceptable 
that  t;he  church  gave  him  a  call,  but  he  did  not  see  his  way 
clear  to   accept  it.     A  call  from  Brooklyn,   N.  Y.,  soon  fol- 


no  1743- THE   OLD   AND    THE   NEW. 1  876. 

lowed,  which  he  did  accept,  and  was  soon  installed.  Brook- 
lyn was  then  rapidly  growing,  and  soon  became  an  important 
city.  From  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Brooklyn,  he 
was  called,  in  September,  1828,  to  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Janeway  had  resigned.  The 
church  embraced  a  large  number  of  distinguished  men,  and 
had  been  blessed  with  a  succession  of  able  pastors.  The 
prominence  of  the  position,  and  the  consequent  responsibility 
of  the  post,  induced  the  most  careful  thought  and  great  hes- 
itation. Drs.  Green,  Miller,  Alexander,  and  McAuley,  were 
sought  as  counsellors,  and  under  advice  of  these  fathers  in 
the  church,  he  at  length  decided  on  removal.  He  was  in- 
stalled January  21,  1829,  and  died  December  25,  1831. 

Like  the  men  who  had  gone  before,  and  into  whose  labors 
he  entered,  Mr.  Sanford  was  eminent  for  piety.  His  conver- 
sation, his  pulpit  ministrations,  his  labors  for  his  fellow  men, 
marked  him  as  a  man  of  rare  purity  of  character  and  much 
converse  with  God.  Holiness  was  the  fruit  of  his  lips.  He 
was  much  in  prayer,  and  held  daily  converse  with  eternal 
things.  In  the  pulpit,  his  prayers  were  marked  with  wonder- 
ful solemnity  and  unction.  He  seemed  to  be  climbing  the 
ladder  for  blessings  for  himself  and  his  people.  He  grew 
in  grace.     It  was  not  necessary  to  go  to  his  intimate  friends 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        Ill 


to  learn  his  character  —  all  who  saw  him  and  heard  him,  felt 
that  he  had  been  much  with  Jesus.  He  was  commanding  as 
a  speaker,  a  voice  of  uncommon  richness  and  compass.  An 
agreeable  countenance,  great  self-possession,  and  a  master  of 
the  art  of  speaking,  he  was  heard  with  profound  attention. 
His  addresses  before  the  annual  meetings  of  the  great  reli- 
gious societies  made  deep  and  lasting  impression.  The  min- 
istry was  his  chosen  and  much  loved  work.  In  this  he  found 
his  highest  joy  and  greatest  usefulness.  He  was  consecrated 
to  the  work,  and  nothing  could  draw  him  aside  from  it. 
During  his  pastorate  of  this  Church  of  less  than  three  years, 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  added  to  the  member- 
ship, and  more  than  five  hundred  souls  were  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  in  the  two  churches  of  which  he  was 
pastor.  He  followed  in  the  line  of  mighty  men  —  mighty 
men  followed  him. 

For  two  years  after  his  death  the  Church  remained  vacant. 

\  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  November,   1833,   Rev.   Cornelius  C. 
Cuyler  was  called  as  the  ninth  pastor.     Dr.  Cuyler  was  a  des- 

.  cendant  of  the  colonists  that  settled  the  Province  of  New  York 
as  early  as  the  time  of  Charles  H.      He  was  born  at  Albany, 

.  New  York,  in  1783,  and  trained  under  a  mother  who  was  left 
a  widow  when  he  was  but  twelve  years  of  age.     His  mother 


112        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876. 

was  a  woman  of  superior  intellect  and  education,  and  eminent 
for  her  piety. 

At  fourteen  young  Cuyler  was  prepared  for  college.  He 
graduated  at  Union  in  1806,  and  at  eighteen  made  a  public 
profession  of  religion.  His  first  purpose  was  to  study  law, 
but  the  change  wrought  in  his  heart  and  life  by  the  Dix'ine 
Spirit  turned  him  at  once  to  the  ministry.  He  was  licensed 
in  1808,  and  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  in  Poughkeepsie  in  1809.  From  that  Church 
he  was  called  to  Philadelphia  in  1833,  by  unanimous  vote  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church.  Frequent  revivals  marked 
his  ministry  in  Poughkeepsie  during  the  twenty-five  years  of 
his  pastorate,  and  large  additions  were  made  to  the  Church. 
He  was  blessed  of  God,  as  the  healer  of  strife  as  well  as  the 
winner  of  souls. 

He  entered  upon  his  duties  with  this  Church  in  the  matu- 
rity of  his  strength  and  experience,  and  carried  forward  his 
work  with  the  same  earnest  spirit  and  unshaken  fidelity. 
The  new  field  was  unlike  the  old,  from  which  so  many 
spiritual  harvests  had  been  gathered.  New  difficulties, 
incident  to  life  and  change  in  a  great  city,  gathered  about  his 
way.  The  Church  was  badly  located,  the  drift  of  peoples  and 
families  was  away  from   it,  and  farther   to  the  west ;    and  yet 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876.        II3 

he  wrought  on  with  untiring  zeal  and  ceaseless  industry,  in 
the  pulpit,  the  Sabbath  School,  the  prayer-meeting,  the  family 
circle,  and  found  in  all  evident  tokens  of  the  Divine  approval 
and  blessing.  Gradual  accessions  were  made  to  the  Church, 
Christians  were  built  up  in  the  most  holy  faith,  and  the 
influence  of  the  old  historic  church  was  felt  for  good  on 
the  neighboring  Churches  and  throughout  the  City  and  the 
land. 

He  labored  on  for  seventeen  years,  reaching  the  forty-third 
year  of  his  ministry  and  the  sixtieth  of  his  life,  when  he 
resigned  his  pastorate.  At  this  time  the  disease  which  ter- 
minated his  life  had  developed  itself,  and  from  that  time  till 
his  death,  August  thirty-first,  i860,  he  had  a  constant  struggle 
with  suffering.  But  in  all  his  faith  triumphed.  After  the  most 
solemn  and  tender  counsels  to  his  family,  each  member  of 
which  was  addressed,  and  all  committed  to  God  in  prayer, 
foil-owed  by  some  hours  of  uneasiness  and  fitful  sleep,  he  was 
heard  whispering  the  words  :  — 


"  Where  the  Assembly  ne'er  breaks  up, 
"  The  Sabbath  ne'er  shall  end." — 


and  was  gone. 


114        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876. 

Dr.  Plumer,  a  friend,  companion  and  fellow  laborer  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  says  :  — 

"  As  a  public  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  he  was  entitled  to  great  veneration. 
"  He  ever  held  fast  the  form  of  sound  words.  At  no  period  of  his  ministry  was 
*'  he  suspected  by  good  men  of  any  defection  from  the  truth.  He  was  beyond  all 
"  charges  of  heterodoxy.  But  he  did  not  rest  in  heartless  orthodoxy.  He  ever 
"  held  that  it  was  good  to  be  zealously  affected  always  in  a  good  thing. 

"  He  was  among  the  most  active  and  influential  of  all  the  friends  of  our 
"  national  benevolent  societies.     As  he  could  he  aided  them  during  life. 

"  In  the  Presbyterian  Church  he  was  very  greatly  distinguished  for  the  amount 
"  of  confidence  and  influence  which  he  acquired  while  connected  with  it.  He 
'*  has  several  times  been  a  member  of  our  highest  Judicatory,  and  when  there, 
"  how  wise  and  faithful  he  has  been,  the  records  will  show  and  many  will  testify." 

Dr.  Gregory  writes  of  a  friend,  now  dead,  who  in  writing 
of  Dr.  Cuyler's  death,  said  :  — 

"  The  only  perfect  man  I  ever  knew  is  gone  —  Dr.  Cuyler 
"is  dead." 

His  influence  upon  young  men,  and  his  zeal  for  their  good, 
are  exemplified  in  an  instance  which  I  will  relate  :  — 

**  In  the  year  1847,  a  number  of  Presbyterians  in  Phocnixville,  applied  to  the 
"  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  for  an  organization;  but  divisions  arose  among 
"them  in  reference  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Old  and  New  School,  and  at  a  meet- 
"  ing  of  Presbytery  it  was  th(»u;jfht  not  worth  while  to  look  after  them.  Dr.  Cuy- 
'*  ler,  however,  thouglit   differently.      He   said  tlicrc   were   precious  souls   there. 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        II5 

"  and  he  would  go  and  organize  them.  During  the  services,  he  missed  a  young 
"man  whom  he  had  seen  at  his  first  visit  to  the  place.  He  determined  to  see  the 
"  young  man.  He  made  inquiries  at  the  house  where  the  young  man  boarded, 
"  and  was  informed  that  he  was  at  work  in  Montgomery  County.  It  was  a 
"  bleak,  cold  morning,  in  the  month  of  February,  the  snow  and  slush  covered  the 
"  ground  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  or  more  ;  but  Dr.  Cuyler,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles, 
"  adhered  to  his  determination  to  see  this  young  man.  He  started  on  his  errand, 
"  and  after  a  toilsome  walk,  discovered  the  object  of  his  search.  He  had  a  long 
**  talk  with  the  young  man,  remonstrating  with  him  for  his  evil  ways,  and  begging 
*'  him  to  return  to  the  paths  of  duty.  The  words  of  the  good  Doctor  sank  deep 
"into  the  heart  of  the  young  man.  In  less  than  one  year  he  was  ordained  a 
**  Ruling  Elder,  and  was  the  instrument,  in  the  hands  of  God,  in  the  course  of 
"  six  years,  of  organizing  four  Churches,  all  of  which  are  to-day,  prospering.  In 
"  several  of  these  Churches  he  acted  as  Ruling  Elder." 

Dr.  Cuyler  resigned  his  charge  in  1850.  The  same  year, 
the  Rev.  Charles  W.  Shields,  was  called  as  the  tenth  pastor. 
He  remained  with  the  Church  until  1865,  when  he  resigned 
his  charge  and  accepted  a  professorship  in  Princeton  College. 
Dr.  Shields  still  occupies  that  honorable  and  useful  post. 

Of  his  work  in  this  Church  it  is  not  now  the  time  to  speak. 
Greatly  endeared  to  the  people,  he  left  many  hearts,  that  could 
not  for  a  long  time  be  reconciled  to  his  departure,  and  who, 
to  this  day,  are  steadfast  in  the  loyalty  of  love.  As  I  knew 
Dr.  Shields  in  his  boyhood,  and  have  a  profound  admiration 
for  his   superior  talents,  and   his  power  as  a  preacher,  I   may 


Il6        1743- — THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876. 

say  this  much  —  that  he  was  eloquent  and  grand.  The  most 
cultivated  intellect,  and  the  most  ardent  piety,  could  follow 
his  rounded  periods  and  majestic  diction  with  delight.  With 
a  native  modesty,  that  amounted  almost  to  diffidence,  he 
shrank  from  the  contact  with  men,  and  found  it  difficult  to  be 
at  home,  and  at  ease,  in  the  work  of  pastoral  visitation.  He 
was  honored  of  God  as  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  and  has 
left  his  name  and  his  work  as  an  inheritance  among  his 
brethren  who  wrought  before  him.  He  kept  the  royal  suc- 
cession. 

The  eleventh  pastor  of  the   Second  Church  was   installed, 
November  12,  1865,  and  is  still  on  duty. 


What  will  you  do  with  this  ancient  heritage  of  God? 


You  have  entered  into  other  men's  labors.  You  are  a 
ground  that  has  been  wet  with  the  tears  of  Godly  men  and  wo- 
men, and  upon  which,  the  beaded  sweat  has  fallen  from  the 
faces  of  men  mighty  in  conflict  and  great  in  toil.  You  sit 
under  the  vine  and  eat  the  fruit  of  trees  which  other  hands 
have   planted.     You  hold  the  sacred  trusts  of  the  generations. 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 


117 


What  will  you  do  with  them  ?  The  future  will  hold  you  to 
strict  account;  and  God,  greater  than  all,  will  require  at  your 
hands  the  inheritance  of  your  Father's  unimpaired.  You  can- 
not squander  this  splendid  patrimony,  and  be  guiltless.  You 
cannot  allow  this  spotless  record  to  be  stained  and  bleared, 
and  go  blameless  to  the  bar  of  God.  The  reaper's  sickle  will 
follow  in  your  track,  to  gather  either  briars  and  thorns  for 
the  burning,  or  souls  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  you  shall 
sow  the  seed.  What  shall  the  harvest  be  ?  What  shall  be 
the  future  of  this  Church,  which  God  has  honored  for  an 
hundred  and  thirty  years,  and  made  one  of  the  gateways  to 
His  own  Eternal  Dwelling-place  ?  Give  answer,  ye  men  and 
women  of  Philadelphia,  in  noble  deeds  and  saintly  lives,  and 
God  shall  crown  your  days  and  bless  your  work,  as  He  has 
the  hosts  who  have  gone  before  you. 


CORNER    OF    TWENTY- FIRST   AND    WALNUT    STREETS. 


[See    Frontispiece.] 


HE  style  of  architecture  is  an  adaptation  of  the 
thirteenth  century — French  Gothic,  with  some 
early  English  features.  The  plan  consists  of  a 
lofty  clere-story  nave,  with  aisles  and  transepts,  and  a  tower  and 
spire  at  the  north  end  of  the  west  aisle.  The  nave  terminates 
in  an  apse  of  five  sides.  The  principal  dimensions  of  the  build- 
ing are  as  follows,  vi;s :  —  Length  of  nave,  including  apse,  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  feet ;  breadth  across  transepts,  sixty-four 
feet,  eight  inches  ;  breadth  across  nave  and  aisles,  fifty-eight 
feet ;  height  of  nave  from  floor  to  crown  of  arched  ceiling, 
sixty  feet ;  height  of  ridge  of  nave  roof  (on  exterior)  above 
sidewalk,   eighty   feet ;  height   of  tower  above   sidewalk,  one 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        I  I9 

hundred  and  nine  feet  six  inches  ;  height  of  tower  and  spire, 
when  finished,  from  sidewalk  to  top  of  stone  finial,  two  hun- 
dred and  two  feet,  and  to  the  top  of  the  iron  corona,  two  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  feet. 

The  materials  used  on  the  exterior  are  Richmond  granite 
for  the  base  or  plinth  ;  Trenton  stone  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  walling  above  the  plinth  line  ;  Cleveland  (Ohio)  stone  for 
the  tracery  of  the  windows,  mouldings  of  the  doorways,  etc., 
together  with  red  sandstone  (Seneca  quarries)  from  near 
Washington,  D.  C;  blue  sandstone  from  Franklin,  Venango 
county.  Pa.,  and  green  serpentine  from  the  Kilmarnock 
quarries,  Delaware  County,  Pa.,  in  special  parts,  for  contrasts 
of  color  and  decorative  effects. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  faced,  and  the  arches  are 
built  with  buff-colored  bricks,  imported  from  England,  similar 
to  those  made  at  Milwaukee. 

In  the  windows  throughout  the  building,  the  mullions  are 
\  one-third  the  breadth   of  the   lights   next  to   them,  and   the 
tracery  is  in  all  cases  placed  in  the   centre  of  the  thickness  of 
,.the  walls,  so  that  strong  shadows  are  produced.     Much  elabo- 
ration   has  been  gone  into  on  the  two  principal    doorways. 
•  The  west  door  is  eleven   feet  in  width  of  opening,  and  the 
top  of  finial  of  the  gabled  canopy  over  it,  has  an  elevation  of 


120        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876. 

thirty-six  feet  above  the  sidewalk.  The  mouldings  of  the 
arch  are  rolls  and  hollows  in  clusters,  separated  by  tooth 
ornaments,  which  latter  are  continued  down  to  the  bases  of 
the  columns.  The  capitals  of  the  columns,  supporting  the 
canopy,  are  covered  with  the  rose,  leek,  thistle,  and  shamrock, 
while  the  central  column,  dividing  the  door,  has  the  four 
united.  The  carving  of  the  capitals,  supporting  the  arch,  re- 
present flowers  and  ferns. 

The  tympanum  of  the  door  is  of  stone,  boldly  carved.  In 
the  centre,  within  a  vesica,  is  the  text;  "  I  am  the  Door,"  and 
the  sacred  monograms,  Chi,  Rho  and  Alpha,  Omega,  and  in  the 
spandrels  around  the  vesica,  the  vine  conventionally  treated. 

The  tower  door,  although  smaller,  is  treated  in  a  manner 
similar  to  the  west  door.     The  tympanum  records  the  date  of. 
the  foundation  of  the  Church,  1743. 

The  capitals  of  the  columns  represent  the  six  leading  agri- 
cultural products  of  the  country — wheat,  corn,  grapes,  cotton, 
tobacco  and  sugar. 

The  clere-story  is  lighted  by  lancets  arranged  in  triplets, 
and  separated  on  the  exterior  by  clustered  columns  of  stone. 

The  mouldings  throughout  the  interior  are  of  terra-cotta  and 
of  stone.  No  plaster  is  used  in  any  part  of  the  building. 
The  arches,  supporting  the  clere-story,  and  dividing  the  nave 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876.        121 

from  the  aisles  and  transepts,  rest  on  polished  shafts  of  native 
marbles,  six  different  varieties  being  used.  The  capitals  and 
bases  of  these  columns  are  of  light-colored  free-stone,  the 
plinths  of  black  marble,  and  the  dividing  moulds  or  bands  of 
white  marble.  Polished  shafts  are  also  used  in  pairs,  forming 
corbels  as  responds  to  arches,  and  all  the  capitals  are  carved. 
The  nave  roof  is  a  barrel  vault  with  arched  wooden  ceiling 
on  moulded  ribs,  springing  from  the  beams,  and  the  arched 
ceiling  continues  at  the  same  height  around  the  apse.  All  the 
woodwork  of  the  roof  and  ceiling  is  of  yellow  pine  from 
Florida.  The  pulpit  is  of  elaborate  workmanship,  and  has 
been  presented  to  the  Church  by  Mr.  Theodore  Cuyler,  in 
memory  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler,  for  many  years  a  pastor 
of  this  congregation.  It  is  of  Caen  stone,  and  was  executed 
by  Messrs  William  Struthers  &  Sons.  An  angel,  modeled  by 
Mr.  Bailey,  the  sculptor,  forms  the  support  of  the  pulpit,  and 
the  rest  of  the   carving  is  by  Mr.  Calder.     A  baptismal   font, 

'{presented  as  a  memorial  to  the  late   Mr.  John  Struthers,  by 
Mr.  William  Struthers)  and  a  communion  table  of  black  wal- 

^.nut,  are  placed  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  platform,  and  raised 
one  step  above  the  floor  of  the  building.  Black  walnut  has 
been  used  in  the  seating  throughout  the  building,  and  crimson 
reps  in  the  upholstery  of  the  seats. 


122 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1 876. 


The  gaslights  are  arranged  in  coronse  suspended  in  the 
arches.  These  have  been  made  from  designs  of  the  architect. 
The  organ  was  built  by  Messrs.  W.  B.  D.  Simmons  &  Co.,  of 
Boston,  and  cost  ;^  13,000.  It  is  placed  in  a  gallery  at  the 
Walnut  street  end  of  the  nave,  and  is  in  two  parts,  the  large 
west  window,  of  four  lights,  being  unobstructed.  It  has  forty- 
four  speaking  stops,  eight  mechanical  registers,  six  combi- 
nation pedals,  and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  pipes. 


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APPENDIX. 


ARCH    STREET, 

WITH   SECOND  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 


[See   IPlate   opposite.] 


HE  extreme  portion  of  the  foreground  is  upon  Arch 
fQJ~\^Xl\)        street,  near  Fifth.     On  the  south  side  a  portion  of 
the  wall  of  Christ  Church  Burying  Ground  is  seen. 
Adjoining  and  extending  toward  Fourth  street,  is  a  row  of 
houses,  some  of  which  yet  exist,  and  have  been  altered,  the 
first  stories  being  occupied  as  stores.     This  was  one  of  the 
finest  row  of  houses  in  the  City,  in  the  year  1800,  and  it  was 
built  by  Wm.  Sansom,  a  famous  improver,  who  did  much  for 
the  benefit  of  our   local   architecture;    Mr.    Sansom   himself 
J-ived  at  this  time  in  the  house  nearest  the  burying  ground. 
His  next  door  neighbor  was  Dr.   Samuel   Magaw,   rector  of 
St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  and  a  Professor  in  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania;  Andrew  Hodge,  Merchant;  Thos.  Steward- 


124  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

r 

son,  Merchant,  and  Edward  Thomson,  occupied  the  houses 
succeeding.  The  latter  was  subsequently  the  most  famous 
shipping  merchant  in  the  City,  next  to  Stephen  Girard.  The 
house  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Fourth  and  Arch  streets, 
was  the  residence  in  1800,  of  Thos.  W.  Armat,  Merchant. 
It  was  built  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  occupied 
for  a  time  as  the  residence  of  the  Provost.  Rev.  \Vm.  Smith 
lived  there  in  1 791,  and  in  1795  it  was  the  residence  of  Rev. 
John  Ewing,  Provost.  At  the  north-west  corner  of  Fourth 
and  Arch  streets,  the  little  two  story  building  was  a  well  ac- 
customed tavern.  John  Whiteman  kept  it  as  the  Sorrel  Horse 
in  1795,  and  J.  Knight  who  succeeded  him,  put  up  the  "Fox 
and  the  Grapes,"  in  1800.  Coming  westward,  from  the  cor- 
ner, the  houses  on  the  north  side  of  this  street  were  occupied 
successively  by  Ezra  Varden,  Tailor;  John  P^lanagan,  Printer, 
and  Samuel  Parker,  Brass  Founder.  The  large  house  nearest 
us  was,  in  1800,  occupied  by  Dr.  John  Ewing,  who  had 
moved  from  the  south-west  corner.  At  the  north-east  corner 
of  Fourth  street,  the  fine,  large,  old  fashioned  house,  which 
still  remains  unaltered  in  the  upper  portion,  was  the  residence 
of  the  Keppele  family  until  1794.  Jemima  Carson  kept  it  as 
a  boarding  house  in  1795,  and  Thos.  Burke,  Merchant,  re- 
sided there  in  1800.     Proceeding  eastward  on  the  north  side, 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876.        125 

we  pass  respectively  the  dwelling  houses  of  Robert  Rainey, 
Merchant;  Leonard  Kessler,  Gentleman;  Adam  Walter,  Shoe- 
maker; James  Houston,  Teller  of  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania; 
Gen.  James  Irwin,  and  the  widow  Loxley,  at  the  corner  of 
the  court  bearing  her  family  name.  At  the  other  corner  of 
the  alley,  was  David  Evans'  carpenter  shop ;  next  was  Valeria 
Fullerton's  boarding  house,  the  front  room  of  which  on  the 
first  floor  was  occupied  by  Wm.  Sergeant,  an  eminent  lawyer, 
and  brother  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Sergeant,  for  his  office. 
Jane  Malcom's  boarding  house  was  next  door  to  the  residence 
of  Alex.  Wilcocks,  who  was  then  Recorder  of  the  City  of 
Philadelphia. 

The   Second   Presbyterian   Church   Avas   at  the   north-west 
corner  of  Arch  and  Third  streets.     It  was  a  brick  building", 
with  windows  with  round  heads,  on  Arch  street.     The  foun- 
dation of  this   Meeting   House  was  laid  on  the  seventeenth 
of  May,   1750,  and  the  building  was  finished  and  dedicated 
;on  the  thirty-first  of  May,    1752.     The  steeple  was  built  by 
means  of  funds  raised  by  a  lottery,  and  was  not  finished  until 
vthe  latter  part  of  1763,  or  the  beginning  of  1764.     It  was  a 
fine,  large  and  showy  construction,  and  a  marked  feature  of 
•observation   from   the   approaches   to   the   City.      It   became 
decayed  after  1800,  and  the  wooden  portion  was  taken  down, 


126        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW.  —  I  876. 


and  in  1809,  the  tower  was  torn  down,  and  the  space  wliich 
it  occupied  thrown  into  the  body  of  the  church.  The  last 
sermon  was  preached  in  this  church  by  Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler, 
December  25,  1836,  and  the  building  was  torn  down  shortly 
afterward. 

The  street  shows  evidence  of  quietness;  a  few  pedestrians 
are  seen.  The  gentleman  with  cane  and  fair  top  boots,  on 
the  south  side,  keeps  his  fingers  warm  by  hiding  one  hand 
in  his  coat  pocket.  The  two  ladies  are  distinguished  by  their 
fashionable  bonnets.  The  servant  at  the  pump,  the  negro 
boy  who  watches  the  horses  tied  to  the  lamp  post,  the  baker 
with  his  cart,  and  the  mechanic  in  trowsers  and  jacket,  going 
down  Arch  street,  move  leisurely,  as  if  it  were  not  proper  to 
be  in  a  hurry.  Even  the  hack  and  covered  wagon  coming 
up,  and  the  dray  going  down,  seem  to  be  driven  in  a  delib- 
erate manner  as  if  there  was  plenty  of  time. 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        12/ 


PASTORS. 


GEORGE  WHITEFIELD,       .         .        .        .     Founder. 

GILBERT  TENNENT, 1743 

JOHN   MURRAY, 1765 

JAMES   SPROAT, 1769 

ASHBEL   GREEN,  . 1787 

J.   N.  ABEEL, 1794 

JACOB  J.  JANEWAY, 1799 

THOMAS    H.   SKINNER,    .         .         .         .         .  1813 

■  JOSEPH   SANFORD, 1828 

CORNELIUS   C.   CUYLER,        ....  1834 

CFIARLES   W.   SHIELDS, 1850 

E:  R.   beadle,  .         ....         .         .  1865 


128 


1743- — THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. — 18/6. 


RULING  ELDERS. 


1745.— Jan.       16, 


1746. — Sep.       25, 


i(  t( 


1765.  —  Feb. 
it  it 


1784. 


7, 


Nov.      14, 


((  t( 


1789.  —  March    7, 


((  (( 


1790.  —  May      15, 


a  a 


"         June        5, 


CAPTAIN   THOMAS   BOURNE. 
SAMUEL   HAZARD. 

GEORGE   SPAFFORD. 
DAVID    CHAMBERS. 

.    JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

GUNNING   BEDFORD. 

.    JOHN    RHEA. 

HUGH    McCULLOUGH. 

ROBERT   GATHER. 

DANIEL   ROBERDEAU. 

.     JOHN   McCALLA. 

Dr.  JOHN   REDMAN. 

EBENEZER   HAZARD. 

Col.  JOHN   BAYARD. 

WILLIAM    FALCONER. 
.  ISAAC   SNOWDEN. 

WILLIAM    BROWN. 

.      ROBERT   SMITH. 

SAMPSON    HARVEY. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 


129 


1802.  —  Dec. 


4, 


18 18. — Jan.       20, 


1827.  —  April     9, 


1837.  —  April   17, 


i<  (< 


1 841. — Jan.       19, 


1852.  —  Nov.      24, 


ROBERT  RALSTON. 

JOHN    HARRIS. 

THOMAS    LATIMER. 

.   DANIEL  JAUDON. 

ALEXANDER   HENRY. 
.  ISAAC   SNOVVDEN. 

JOHN   MOORE. 
ANDREW   BROWN. 
ROBERT   HOBART   SMITH. 
.  MATTHEW   L.   BEVAN. 

GEORGE   H.  VAN    GELDER. 
CHARLES    COLLINS. 

Dr.  WILLIAM    DARRACH.  ^ 
BENJAMIN   STILLE. 
WILLIAM    NASSAU. 
.  WILLIAM    DULLY. 

.     JOEL  JONES. 

WILLIAM    R.  THOMPSON. 

CHARLES    MACALESTER. 

CHARLES   E.   MORGAN. 


no 


1743. — THE   OLD   AND   THE    NEW. 1  876. 


1862. — Jan.         5, 


1869.  — Nov.       8, 


1876. — Jan.         2, 


Dr.  WILLIAM    DARRACH. 
THOMAS    M.   FREELAND. 

H.   LENOX    HODGE,   M.   D. 

.  M.  S.  STOKES. 

.  H.  W.  PITKIN. 
CHARLES   F.   HASELTINE. 

JOHN   G.   READING. 
.  PAUL  GRAFF. 


DEACONS,  1877. 


A.   B.  WALTERS. 
WILLIAM   T.   CARTER. 
GEORGE   HUNT. 
DAVID    LEE. 
JAMES   M.   EARLE. 
WILLIAM    L.   MACTIER. 
JOHN   P.   LOGAN. 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 


131 


TRUSTEES,  1876 


GEORGE   W.   HALL. 


^T-ICE-FRESIIDEIS^T. 

JNO.   G.   READING. 


C  E  E  R  Iv  . 

RICHARD    C.  WINSHIP. 


TREA.SXJR-ER. 

JAMES    M.   EARLE. 


TRU 
Wm.  C.  Morgan, 
Uriah  W.  Stokes, 
George  W.  Hall, 
Charles  F.  Haseltine, 
James  M.  Earle, 
Richard  C.  Winship, 
George  B.  McCulloh, 
Paul  Graff, 
James  L.  Harmar, 
Jno.  p.  Logan, 
Jno.  G.  Reading, 
William  T.  Carter, 


STEES. 

W.  Newton  Meeks, 
E.  P.  Kershow, 
I.  Layton  Register, 
Samuel  Agnew, 
Frederick  R.  Shelton, 
Francis  J.  Alison, 
T.  DeW.  Cuyler, 
C.  E.  Claghorn, 
R.  E.  Cochran, 
Geo.  E.  Taylor, 
I.  N.  DuBarry, 
George  R.  Snowden. 


132        1743- — THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1 876. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  CHARTERS. 


"  Thomas  Penn  and  yohn  Penn,  triie  and  absolute  proprietaries  of  the 
"  Province  of  Pennsylvania  and  Counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex, 
*^  ott  Delaware,  to  all  persons  to  %uhom  these  presents  may  come,  GREETING:  — 

*  *  *  *  *  ^f  * 

"  Wherefore,  they  have  prayed  us  to  incorporate  the  committee  of  said  Church, 
**  by  the  name  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  City 
"of  Philadelphia,  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania;  and  that  they  and  their 
"successors,  by  such  name,  may  be  erected  and  constituted  a  body  politic  and 
"  corporate,  and  have  perpetual  succession.  Now  know  ye,  that  we,  favoring 
"  the  prayer  and  application  of  the  said  elders,  deacons,  and  members,  and 
**  willing  as  much  as  in  us  lies  to  encourage,  virtue,  piety,  and  charity,  and  for 
"other  good  causes  and  considerations,  us  thereto  specially  moving,  have  nom- 
"  inated,  ordained,  and  appointed  Samuel  Smith,  Andrew  Hodge,  Jphn-Redman, 
"  Hugh  McCulloch,  William  Shippen,  sr.,  William  Henry,  William  Shippen,  jr., 
"  Nathan  Cooke,  Gunning  Bedford,  John  Bayard,  Jedediah  Snowden,  Joseph 
"  Reed,  William  Hollingshead,  William  Carson,  John  Hall,  William  Bradford, 
"  Robert  Harris,  John  Rhea,  Isaac  Snowden,  Jonathan  B.  Smith,  Benjamin 
"  Armitage,  William  Drury,  Benjamin  Harbison,  and  David  Chambers,  to  be 
"  the  fust  Trustees  of  the   Second   Presbyterian   Church  in  the   City  of  Phila- 

"  delphia." 

*  ^  *  *  *  *  * 

*  it  *  ■)(■  -X-  *  * 

"  Witness  Richard  Penn,  esq..  Lieutenant  Governor  and  Commander-in 
"  Chief  of  our  said  rrovincc,  at  Philadelphia,  the  day  and  year  aforesaid." 

[L.  s.]  "  RICHARD  PENN. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  I  33 


"  Enrolled  in  the  Rolls  Office  in  and  for  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
*'  Patent  Book  A  A,  vol.  12,  page  99,  &c." 

"  Witness  my  hand  and  seal  of  office,  the  i8th  day  of  November,  1772." 

"WILLIAM  PARR, 
[L.  S.]  ''Recr 

There  is  also,  afterwards,  an  Act,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  re-establishing  the 
"  Charter  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and 
*'for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned."     It  reads  thus:  — 

"  Whereas  :—i:\i&  Second  Presbyterian  Congregation,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 
"  by  their  petition,  have  shown,  that  by  their  Charter  of  Incorporation,  bearing 
"  date  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand 
"seven  hundred  and  seventy-two,  granted  by  the  Honorable  Richard  Penn,  esq.,  \^  • 
"  then  being  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  twenty-four  persons  therein 
"named,  members  of  the  said  congregation,  and  their  successors,  were  nom- 
"  inated  and  ordained,  and  appointed  to  be  the  trustees  of  the  Second  Presby- 
"terian  Church,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  etc." 

"Sec.  2, — And  whereas  the  said  congregation  have  further  shown,  that  by 
"reason  of  many  of  their  members  having  withdrawn  themselves  from  their 
"  places  of  residence  in  the  City  on  the  prospect  of  the  enemy's  approach,  and 
"  by  reason  of  the  enemy  having  since  been  in  actual  possession  of  the  City  and 
"  of  their  Church,  the  said  annual  elections  were  prevented  from  being  held, 
"  so  that  no  more  than  eight  trustees  remain,  by  which  means  there  cannot  be  a 
"quorum  capable  of  doing  any  business;  and  have  further  shown,  that  by 
"  experience  they  find  that  their  having  so  large  a  quorum  as  thirteen  renders 


134        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 


"  it  at  all  times  very  difficult  to  procure  a  board  for  doing  business.  And  also. 
"  that  in  and  by  the  said  Charter,  it  is  provided  that  the  clear  yearly  value  of 
"  the  real  estate  of  the  said  corporation  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of  three 
*'  hundred  pounds,  sterling  money  of  Great  Britain,  for  each  house  of  public 
"  worship  erected,  or  to  be  erected,  by  the  said  corporation,  which  sum  is 
*'  inadequate  to  the  pious  and  humane  purposes  intended,  and  have  therefore 
"prayed,  etc." 

*'  Sec.  3. — Be  it  therefore  enacted,  atid  it  is  hereby  enacted,  by  the  Representa- 
"  fives  of  the  Freemen  of  the  Co??imoJiu>ealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  General  As- 
'^  sembly  met,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  etc.,  etc.  *  *  And  that  Joseph 
"  Reed,  Thomas  Bourne,  Andrew  Hodge,  Gunning  Bedford,  John  Bayard, 
**  Hugh  Hodge,  "William  Faulkner,  William  Smith,  Isaac  Snowden,  Daniel 
"  Goodman,  Benjamin  Harbison,  Nathan  Cook,  William  Geddis,  Jared  Inger- 
"soU,  William  Hollingshead,  James  Hunter,  Samuel  McClane,  James  Robeson, 
**  Abraham  Dubois,  Hugh  Lenox,  Jonathan  B.  Smith,  Thomas  Ne^vill,  William 
**  Mcllhenny,  and  Joseph  Eastburne,  last  elected  to  be  Trustees,  as  aforesaid, 
**be,  and  they  are  hereby  declared  to  be,  the  present  Trustees  of  the  said 
"Church."  *  *  *  ^  *  ^ 

(Signed)         "JOHN  BAYARD, 

"  Speaker." 


"Enacted  into  a  law  at  Philadelphia,  on  Friday,  the  third  of  March,  A.  D. 
1780." 

"THOMAS  PAINE, 
"Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly." 


OFFSHOOTS  FROM  THE 


%ttmi  m-mhimnn  Mhmm  of  lliiil 

t^  ^  CG^ 


The  following  abstracts  have  been  made  from  Histories  compiled 
by  Mr.  Samuel  Agnew,  of  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society^ 
from  the  original  books  and  papers : — 


FIRST  CHURCH  OF  THE  NORTHERN  LIBERTIES. 


'bout  1764,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sproat  commenced  stated 

X^     preaching  at  Campington,  in  a  small  frame  house 

provided  for  the  purpose  by  the  Second  Church. 

\  The  building  was  known  by  the  name  of  "The  Old  Cannon 

House,"    and  was  at  the    North-east  corner   of  Coates    and 

^.  St.  John  streets.     Eventually  Drs.  Green  and  Janeway,  aided 

by  Robert  Ralston,  solicited  funds  sufficient  to  erect  a  brick 

.  building,  eighty  .by  sixty  feet,  at   the   North-west  corner  of 

Coates  and  Second  streets,  which  was  first  opened  for  worship, 


136        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 

on  Sabbath,  April  7,  1805,  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  the 
Pastor  of  the  Second  Church  down  to  April  20,  181 3,  when 
it  was  separated  from  the  Second  Church  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia,  and  constituted  a  distinct  congregation,  under 
the  name  of  "The  Church  of  the  Northern  Liberties." 

The  formal  organization  of  the  Church  was  January  12, 
1814.  The  first  Pastor  was  the  Rev.  James  Patterson.  "The 
"property  becoming  valuable  and  inconveniently  noisy,  it  was 
"thought-  advisable  to  pull  down  this  building,  and  the  congre- 
"gation  removed  to  another  location."  {Couinnmication  of 
''Mr.  Samuel  Hazard,  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Second 
"  Churchr) 

This  Church  is  now  in  Buttonwood  street,  below  Sixth 
street. 


THE  TABERNACLE;  OR, 
SEVENTH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  held  October  4,  1804,  a  letter  was  presented  from 
nine  members  of  the  Church,  requesting  dismissal.  These 
members  were  originally  of  the  "Independent  persuasion," 
and  desired  now,  with  others,  entertaining  similar  sentiments, 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  I  37 

to  form  an  Independent  Church.  The  nine  members  were: — 
WilHam  Shufflebottom,  WilHam  Sheepshanks,  Charles  Wood- 
ward, Robert  Murphey,  John  Lorain,  jr.,  Gilbert  Gaw, 
Susannah  Gaw,  John  Firth,  and  Elizabeth  Firth. 

*'In  a  short  time  they  were  so  much  prospered,  that  they 
''purchased  a  lot  and  built  a  House  of  Worship,  which  as  to 
''situation,  neatness  and  convenience,  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
"in  Philadelphia.  To  this  an  additional  lot  was  procured  in 
"Cherry  street,  near  the  south-east' corner  of  Fifth  street,  from 
"Schuylkill,  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  front  on  Cherry 
"street,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-four  feet  in  depth,  which  is 
"appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  congregation  as  a  place  of 
"interment."  {^Minute  Book  of  the  Second  Reforined  Dutch 
Church  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  December,  1816.) 

Eleven  years  later  the  congregation  having  been  long  with- 
out a  Pastor,  and  having  met  with  many  difficulties,  a  Congre- 
gational Meeting  was  called,  and  it  was  resolved  that  overtures 

•'should  be  made  to  the  people  of  the  First  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  in  Crown  street,  to  unite  with  the  body  to  which  they 
"belonged.  On  July  i,  18 16,  this  Independent  Congregation, 
together  with  some  persons  from  the  First   Dutch  Church, 

■formed  the  Second  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 
/  At  a  meeting  of  the   Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  held  in 


138        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 

Abington,  November  9,  1819,  an  application  from  the  congre- 
gation lately  styled  the  Second  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in 
the  City  of  Philadelphia,  was  made  through  William  Sheep- 
shanks, Robert  Hamill  and  Thomas  Whitacar,  Commissioners 
appointed  for  said  purpose  to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia, 
that  said  congregation  be  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Presby- 
tery with  a  view  to  be  duly  organized  as  the  Seventh  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia.  {Minutes  of 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.) 

November  18,  18 19. — The  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church 
was  organized  by  Rev.  Drs.  Neill,  Ely  and  Janeway,  with 
Messrs.  Robert  Ralston  and  John  McMullin,  a  committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose  by  the  Presbytery. 

This  Church  now  worships  in  the  building  on  Broad  street, 
above  Chestnut. 


FIFTH  PRl^SBYTERIAN;  OR,  ARCH  STREET  CHURCH. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  held  ^larch 
3,  181 3,  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  a  petition  was 
received  from    George  Durfer  and  others,  requesting   to    be 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6.  I  39 

erected  into  a  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church.  The  subject  was 
referred  to  a  committee,  who  at  the  stated  meeting  of  Presby- 
tery, April  21,  1813,  reported  at  length,  giving  the  leading 
facts,  setting  forth  this  and  other  particulars: — "That  the 
**  petition  proceeded  from  a  large  number  of  individuals  who 
"had  belonged  to  the  PLvangelical  Congregation  of  the  City 
"and  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  etc.,  etc.,  etc." 

The  Presbytery  granted  their  petition,  and  appointed  Rev. 
Mr.  Potts  to  organize  them  into  a  regular  Presbyterian 
Church. 

"On  the  last  Lord's  Day,  the  new  meeting  house  of  the 
"Fifth  Presbyterian  Congregation  (in  Locust  street,)  was 
"opened  for  public  worship."  (Religious  Reniembrancer, 
June  J,  18 1 j.) 

November  27,   18 16. —  At  a  meeting   of  Presbytery,   held 

this  day,  a  call  from  the  Fifth  Presbyterian  Church  was  put 

into  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  the  Associate 

,'■  Pastor  of  the   Second  Presbyterian   Church.     The   call   was 

'accepted  and  he  was  installed,  December  i,  1816. 


140        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1 876. 

''  Sessional  Records  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia, December  ij,  1816'' 

"  A  letter  received  from  several  members  of  the  congrega- 
"  tion,  in  full  communion  with  the  Church,  dated  thirteenth 
''  ult.,  requesting  a  dismission  from  the  communion  of  the 
"  Church,  was  read.  Whereupon  it  was  resolved,  that  their 
*'  request  be  granted,  and  that  the  following  certificate  be  given 
"them,  viz: — 

"  By  virtue  of  an  agreement  entered  into,  on  fifth  Novem- 
"ber,  1 8 16,  between  the  friends  of  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Skinner, 
"  and  the  congregation  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
"those  who  were  desirous  of  withdrawing,  should  have  an 
**  honorable  dismissal,  and  a  written  request  being  made  to 
"the  session  by  the  persons  hereafter  named  to  that  effect, 
"  they  are  hereby  dismissed  as  being  in  good  standing  with 
"  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  to  join  such  Church  or 
"  Churches  as  God  in  his  providence  may  direct." 

Isaac  Ashmead,  John  II.  Scudder,  Alexander  Anderson, 

Mary  R.  Mitchell,  Charles  Thompson,  Jane  Phillips, 

Pierce  Chamberlain,  Jared  Bunce,  Mary  Ann  Hodgdon, 

Eliza  Darrach,  Caroline  Hutchins,  Ann  Jane  Ramsey, 

Charlotte  Darrach,  Mary  Vance,  Susan  B.  Bradford, 


1743- 


-THE   OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 


•1876. 


141 


Ann  Parkhill, 
Francis  F.  Fairbairn, 
Hannah  Clark, 
Elizabeth  Harbeson, 
Augusta  Anderson, 
Thomas  Bradford,  jr., 
Eliza  Bradford, 
"William  Bradford, 
Daniel  Thatcher, 
John  Hansom, 
Samuel  Lloyd, 


Mary  Ann  Bunce, 
Hannah  Bason, 
Hannah  Brown, 
Ann  Johnson, 
Catharine  Graham, 
Judith  Smith, 
Elizabeth  Work, 
Sarah  Evans, 
Catharine  Smith, 
Constance  Frinck, 
Charles  McCalla, 


Elizabeth  Smith, 
Susan  Boyle, 
Ann  Ruth, 
Madelaine  Barnes, 
Jane  Graham, 
Thomas  Snowden, 
Thomas  D.  Mitchell, 
Elizabeth  Ruth, 
Julianna  Ruth, 

Elizabeth  Bulkley, 

Mary  Cook. 


February  I,  18 17,  by  a  letter  dated  November  28,  1 8 16: — 


Mary  Pearson, 


Nichodemus  Lloyd,  Elizabeth  Clark. 

Ann  Vanderwarter, 


January  29,  18 17. — The  minutes  of  the  Session  of  the  Fifth 
Presbyterian  Church  record  the  admission  of  the  foregoing 
fifty-two  communicants,  giving  their  names  in  detail. 

This  exodus  from  the  Second  Church,  with  the  Associate 
Pastor,  Dr.  Skinner,  almost  made  the  Fifth  Church  a  new 
congregation. 

Afterwards  the  people  built,  for  Dr.  Skinner,  a  handsome 
Church,  which  still  exists  in  Arch  street,  above  Tenth. 


142        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  8/6. 


NORTH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 


From  the  Minutes  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia : — 

"April  20,  1825. — A  petition  from  one  hundred  and  four 
"  subscribers,  principally  residing  in  the  Northern  Liberties, 
"  was  presented,  requesting  that  they  might  be  taken  under 
"  the  care  of  Presbytery,  and  organized  as  a  Presbyterian 
"  Church  ;  which  request  was  granted,  and  Dr.  Green,  Mr. 
"  Patterson,  and  Mr.  Alexander  Henry  were  appointed  a 
*'  Committee,  etc." 

"October  19,  1825. — The  Committee  reported  that  they 
"  had  organized  the  Church,  *  to  be  known  as  the  Second 
"  '  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Northern  Liberties.'  " 

"A  call  for  Rev.  James  Smith,  from  the  Second  Presby- 
"  terian  Church  in  the  Northern  Liberties,  was  presented, 
"which,  being  found  in  order,  was  put  into  his  hands,  and 
"  he  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  same." 

The  Rev.  James  Smith,  prior  to  his  official  work  in  this 
organization,  worshipped  with  the  Second  Church,  in  Arch 
street.  He  states  that  the  Church  now  known  as  the  North 
Church,  on  Sixth  street,  above  Green,  owes  its  existence 
more  directly  to  the  efforts  of  the  late  Robert   Ralston  (an 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  1 43 


elder  of  the  Second  Church,  in  Arch  street)  than  to  any  one 
else. 

"  He  first  proposed  to  me  to  make  the  attempt  of  erecting 
''  that  building.  It  was  at  the  close  of  a  social  prayer  meeting, 
"  which  had  been  held  on  that  occasion  in  the  house  of  the 
"  late  Alexander  Henry  (also  an  elder  of  the  Second  Church,) 
''when  Mr.  Ralston  invited  me  to  call  at  his  office  in  the 
"following  morning,  and  said  that  he  would  then  give  me 
''  his  name  for  a  subscription  to  the  erection  of  a  new  church 
"  edifice  in  the  northern  part  of  the  City." 

Mr.  Ralston  made  out  for  him  a  written  statement  of  the 
object  intended,  gave  him  a  subscription,  and  actively  aided 
him  in  obtaining  other  subscriptions. 

The  building  was  commenced  in  the  Spring  of  1828. 

On  October  27,  1831,  the  minutes  of  Presbytery  show  that 

application  was   made   by  thirty-nine  members   of  the   First 

Presbyterian  Church  of  Northern  Liberties  (which  also  came 

\    out  of  the  Second  Church,  in  Arch  street,  as  shown  above,) 

^  to  be  organized  as  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  in  Northern 

,.     Liberties.     This  application,  after  examination,  was  granted, 

and  Drs.  Green,  Skinner,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Grant  were  appointed 

.     a  Committee  to  organize  them.     The  Church  worshipped  in 

a  school  house,  in  Poplar  street,  near  Second. 


144  1743- 'i^I^E    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. I  876. 

About  the  close  of  the  year  1832,  the  Second  and  Third 
Presbyterian  Churches  in  the  Northern  Liberties  united  under 
the  name  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Churcli  in  Penn  Township, 
and  the  Rev.  Hugh  M.  Koontz  became  the  pastor.  The 
united  congregation  occupied  the  building  begun  in  1828, 
by  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Northern  Liberties, 
and  partially  finished,  on  Sixth  street,  above  Green.  It  is 
now  known  as  the  North  Church. 


ELEVENTH ;  OR,  WEST  ARCH  STREET  PRESBY- 
TERIAN CHURCH. 


The  late  Wilfred  Hall,  who  died  a  communicating  mem- 
ber of  the  Second  Church,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Eleventh  Church,  and  stated  that  the  parties  originating  and 
organizing  this  Church  were  all  members  of  the  congregation 
of  the  Second  Church. 

The  Session  Pook  of  the  West  Arch  Street  Church  states 
that  "the  first  meeting  on  behalf  of  the  enterprise  was  held  in 
''the  Lecture  Room  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
"  March  29th,  1828,  and  was  called  by  Edward  Sprague,  Wil- 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  I45 

''  liam  Wallace,  Charles  McCalla,  Robert  Street,  James  Wilson, 
"Joseph  W.  Martin,  Wilfred  Hall,  Jacob  Eldridge,  and  James 
"  Hunt,  when  it  was  resolved  to  organize  a  Presbyterian 
**  Church,  and  to  take  means  for  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
"building  in  the  north-western  section  of  the  City." 

''From  the  Sessional  Records  of  the  Second  CJuircJiy 

"November  21,  1828. — An  application  was  read  from  the 
"  undersigned  members  of  this  Church,  for  a  dismission,  to 
"  unite  with  a  Presbyterian  Church,  to  be  located,  and  now 
"  forming,  in  Vine  street,  near  Thirteenth  street,  in  this  City." 

Jacob  Eldridge  and  wife,  James  Wilson, 

Wilfred  Hall,  Hiram  Ayres, 

Elizabeth  White,  John  Umstead  and  wife, 

William  Wallace,  Joseph  W.  Martin. 

"  The  request  of  which  it  was  agreed  to  comply  with,  and 
"  the  Clerk  be  directed  to  issue  certificates  accordingly." 

,  The  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  show  that 
October  21,  1828,  a  petition  was  presented  for  the  organization 
of  a  new  Church,  near  the  corner  of  Vine  and  Twelfth  streets. 
Dr.  Green,  Dr.  Skinner,  and  Rev.  J.  C.  Potts,  were  appointed 
a  Committee  to  act. 


146        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  8/6. 

On  August  13,  1829,  a  call  was  presented  to  Mr.  John  L. 
Grant,  who  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  same.  He  was 
installed  Pastor,  November  i8,  1829. 

"  The  congregation  first  worshipped  in  the  Franklin  Insti- 
"  tute,  Seventh  street,  south  of  Market,  and  when  they  went 
**  to  Vine  there  was  no  other  building  on  the  whole  square, 
"from  Twelfth  to  Thirteenth  streets." 

The  present  edifice  on  the  corner  of  Arch  and  Eighteenth 
streets  was  dedicated  on  Sunday,  October  15,  1855. 


CENTRAL  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 


The  Central  Presbyterian  Church  originated  in  the  with- 
drawal of  a  large  number  of  members  from  the  Second  Church 
soon  after  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sanford,  Pastor  of  the 
Church. 

"The  congregation  was  organized  May  21,  1832,  in  the 
"  Franklin  Institute.  *  *  *  -pj^^  Church  was 

"  organized  on  nineteenth  day  of  June  following,  in  the  Whitc- 
"  field  Academy,  in  Fourth  street.  *  *  *         j^^ 

"  this  meeting  Messrs.   Alexander  Henry  and   ]\Iatthew   L. 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 


147 


"  Bevan,  who  had  been  Ruling  Elders  in  the  Second  Church, 
''were  elected  and  installed  Elders  in  the  Central  Church. 
"  Nineteen  members,  all  on  certificate  from  the  Second  Church, 
*'  constituted  the  infant  organization."  {Synopsis  of  History 
of  the  Central  Church,  prepared  for  that  Church,  March  i , 
iS6g.) 

*'  Sessional  Records  of  Second  Church." 

"June  15,  1832.  —  Session  met  at  Dr.  Green's  study.  The 
*'  following  application  was  submitted  :  —  '  The  undersigned 
'''communicants  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  respect- 
"' fully  request  of  the  Session  that  certificates  of  dismissal, 
" '  for  the  purpose  of  attaching  themselves  to  such  other 
"  '  sister  Church  as  in  the  Providence  of  God  may  be  deemed 
"'best'     Philadelphia,  June  12,  1832." 


Alexander  Henry, 
Hannah  M.  Henry, 
'Anna  Maria  Henry, 
I^etitia  Henry  Smith, 
Ann  M.  Richards, 
Mary  Davidson, 


Sarah  E.  Davidson, 
Mary  E,  Heberton, 
John  V.  Cowell, 
Hannah  Cowell, 
Mary  Cowell, 
Jane  Tate, 


Debby  Bevan, 
Matthew  L.  Bevan, 
F.  V.  King, 
Martha  C.  King, 
Rufus  L.  Barnes, 
Ann  Barnes. 


The  Session  ordered  the  Clerk  to  make  out  certificates  for 
each. 


148 


1743- — THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 18/6. 


V^ 


In  October,  1832,  the  Central  Church  received  an  accession 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  members.  All  were  on 
certificate  fi^om  the  Second  Church,  with  the  exception  of  five. 

On  June  22,  1832,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of  the  Second 
Church,  applications  were  received  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  members  of  the  Church  fpr  dismission.  The  Clerk 
was  authorized  to  make  out  certificates  for  each  applicant,  to 
join  "  such  other  Church  as  the  Providence  of  God  may  seem 
*'to  direct." 

The  following  are  the  names  :  — 


David  T.  Riesch, 
Nancy  Reynolds, 
Margaret  Monell, 
Elizabeth  Gundelach, 
C.  H.  Gundelach, 
Michael  Renwalls, 
Ellen  A.  Renwalls, 
Mary  Beak, 
Ann  Beak, 
Mary  Sands, 
Alleta  Crawley, 
Martha  Slack, 
Martha  Strawback, 
Flora  Scudder, 
Charlotte  P.  Brooke, 


M.  Garnett, 

George  H.  Van  Gelder, 
Henry  Bill, 
Martha  Gatter, 
John  Vanarsdale, 
Peter  L.  Alrich, 
Sarah  Walker, 
Ambrose  Walker, 
John  C.  Moore, 
Peter  Lees, 
Mary  Lees, 
John  Kennedy, 
Theodosia  Kennedy, 
George  Fithian, 
Maiy  Fithian, 


Elizabeth  Prentiss, 
Mary  Perkins, 
Sarah  Durborr, 
Theresa  Shoemaker, 
Ann  Shippen, 
Triphemia  Otis, 
Jane  Williams, 
Jane  Hart, 
Rebecca  Branson, 
Ann  Robison, 
Elizabeth  Davis, 
Sarah  Loder, 
Elizabeth  Culp, 
Margaret  Rhees, 
Maiy  Johnson, 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 


149 


Sarah  B.  Richards, 
Mary  Garrosen, 
Mrs.  R.  B.  Aertson, 
Mary  S.  Christie, 
Sarah  Sparks, 
Tabitha  Clark, 
Mary  Fowler, 
Sarah  Nash, 
Eliza  P.  Barr, 
Ann  Bail, 
Jane  B.  Wilson, 
Margaret  R.  Barr, 
Theodosia  Bayard, 
Jane  M.  Robinson, 
Maria  Tatem, 
Martha  Wellman, 
Susannah  Gavv, 
Rebecca  Gaw, 
Elizabeth  J.  Henry, 
Eliza  J.  Garnett, 

^Harriet  Garnett, 
Mary  Ann  Van  Tine, 
Ellen  Schott, 

•^"Mary  Ann  Gordon, 
Elizabeth  King, 

.  George  Pierson, 


E.  R.  Johnson, 
Charity  Johnson, 
Priscilla  Stewart, 
Martha  Pierson, 
Elizabeth  Hamilton, 
Robert  Sheppard, 
Maria  Sheppard, 
Sarah  Stinefeltz, 
Arabella  Watts, 
Mary  McDoM^ell, 
Lydia  L.  Miller, 
Ann  Allen, 
Sarah  C.  Donnell, 
Loetitia  Howell, 
Elizabeth  H.  Moore, 
Isabella  B.  Davis, 
Mary  Farley, 
Ann  Jane  Smith, 
Eve  Morris, 
John  McDaniel, 
Abraham  Crawley, 
Ann  Watts, 
Rebecca  McCalla, 
Phoebe  Clark, 
Letitia  Clark, 
Sarah  Clark, 
Mary  Henry, 


Hannah  Lawrence, 
John  H.  Campbell, 
Catharine  Campbell, 
Margaret  Garnett, 
Elizabeth  White, 
Ann  M.  Albertie, 
Ann  Hillis, 
Frances  Mitchell, 
Margaret  Milldrum, 
Anna  M.  Woglom, 
Mary  Burkhart, 
Emiice  W.  Thatcher, 
Sarah  Olmstead, 
Sarah  Harbeson, 
Sarah  P.  Robinson, 
Elizabeth  Dexter, 
Mary  Foreman, 
Ann  Crosby, 
Agnes  Goodhary, 
Harriet  Perkins, 
Elizabeth  Bishing, 
William  Wallace, 
Mary  A.  Carroll, 
Hannah  Roberts, 
Elizabeth  Snyder, 
Ellen  Wallace. 


150        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 

The  congregation  worshipped  in  the  Whitefield  Academy, 
in  Fourth  street,  until  the  completion  of  their  own  house  of 
worship,  on  the  corner  of  Eighth  and  Cherry  streets. 

The  Church  was  received  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery, 
April  18,  1833,  and  Dr.  John  McDowell,  of  Elizabethtown, 
N.  J.,  was  installed  the  first  Pastor,  June  6,  1833. 


THE  CONGREGATIONAL  SCHOOLS. 


"The  Church  not  occupying  the  whole  space  purchased 
*' on  Third  street,  in  1749,  left  a  vacancy  there,  on  a  part  of 
"which,  and  a  lot  adjoining,  purchased  by  the  congregation, 
"  was  erected  John  Ely's  frame  school  house,  to  which  most 
'•  of  the  boys  of  the  Church  were  sent.  This  school  house, 
"about  the  year  1794,  gave  place  to  a  three-story  brick  build- 
"  ing,  erected  by  the  congregation  for  a  lecture  room  and 
"charity  schools  of  the  Church,  which  was  afterwards  sold 
"with  the  rest  of  the  Church  property."  [Conuinuiication  to 
Trustees^  by  S.  Hazard)) 


i;743. THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  15^ 


"  Extracts  from  the  Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  respect- 
"  ing  the  organization  of  the  Congregational  School.'' 

"Part  of  Sec.  2.  — That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  receive  applications 
"  for  the  admission  of  Scholars,  and  to  direct  such  admission  when  they  deem 
"it  proper:  And  their  order,  in  writing,  to  the  Master,  shall  be  his  sufficient 
*'  and  sole  warrant  for  receiving  Scholars  into  the  School." 

"Sec.  4.— That  all  the  members  of  the  Congregation  be  entitled  to  send 
"their  children  to  the  School;  and  that  not  only  such  as  hold  pews  or  seats 
**in  the  Church,  but  all  who  worship  statedly  there,  shall,  for  this  purpose, 
"be  considered  as  members  of  the  Congregation." 

"  That  the  children  of  such  members  of  the  Congregation  as  are  unable  to 
"pay  for  their  education  be  admitted  in  preference  to  any  others,  and  taught 
"  free  of  any  expence  ;  and,  if  necessary,  that  they  be  also  furnished  with  books 
"gratis:  And,  that  three  dollars  per  quarter  (or  a  less  sum  at  the  discretion 
"  of  the  Committee)  shall  be  paid  for  the  tuition  of  others  who  shall  be  ad- 
'♦mitted  into  the  School." 

"Sec.  5.  — Should  any  monies  due  for  tuition  be  in  arrear  a  fortnight  after 
"the  quarter  bills  shall  have  been  sent  in,  the  Committee  may  thereupon 
"■exclude  the. children  of  the  delinquents  from  the  School,  unless,  on  exam- 
"ination  of  the  case,  they  shall  find  satisfactoiy  reasons  for  giving  further 
"indulgence,  making  an  abatement,  or  relinquishing  the  claim  of  payment 
"altogether." 

"  Sec.  8.  —  That  the  Minister,  or  Ministers,  of  our  Congregation,  shall,  at 
"all  times,  have  free  access  to  the  School ;  and,  wilh  the  approbation  of  the 
"  Committee,  shall  direct  in  what  manner  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
"Scholars  shall  be  conducted." 


152  1743- THE   OLD   AND   THE    NEW. 1 876. 

"Sec.  9.  —  That,  as  it  is  probable,  that  charitably  disposed  persons  will 
**  make  donations  and  bequests  for  the  use  of  the  School,  the  Committee  have 
"  authority  to  receive  such  donations  and  bequests,  and  apply  them  as  intended 
"by  the  donors." 

"Extract  from  the  Minutes, 

"  ROBERT  SMITH,  Sec'ry." 


''FORM   OF  A    BEQUEST   OF  PERSONAL    ESTATE    FOR    THE 
''USE  OF  THE  ABOVE   INSTITUTIONS 

"  /  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
"  in  Philadelphia,  fo7'  the  Congregational  School  tinder  the  care  of  the  said 
"  Trustees,  the  sum  of 


"FORM  OF  A   BEQUEST  OF  REAL   ESTATES 

"  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
"  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and  to  their  successors  forever,  for  the  use  of 
"the  Congregational  School  under  the  care  of  the  said  Trustees^  etc.  (Here 
"  insert  a  description  of  the  property  bequeathed." 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  I  53 


^CONGREGATIONAL    SCHOOL." 


"THE  Trustees  finding  that  the  present  plan  of  the  Congregational 
"  School,  will  not  admit  as  many  scholars  as  offer,  which  has  occasioned 
"  disappointments  to  many  of  the  congregation  who  wished  to  have  their 
"  children  instructed  there,  have  determined  to  engage  an  assistant  for  the 
"present  teacher;  which,  at  the  same  time  that  it  will  enable  them  to  i^eceive 
**  a  greater  number,  will  secure  to  each  child  a  greater  portion  of  the  instructors' 
"  attention  than  can  be  given  under  the  existing  regulations,  additional  scholars 
"  can  be  immediately  admitted ;  and  although  employing  an  usher  will  add 
"  considerably  to  their  expences,  the  Trustees  charge  but  four  dollars  per  quar- 
"  ter  for  tuition  ;  which  will  also  be  the  price  after  the  expiration  of  the  present 
"quarter  for  the  full  pay  scholars  now  in  the  school." 

''April  20,  1803:' 

Philadelphia:  —  Printed  by  Jane  Aitken,  No.  20,  North  Third  street. 


From  Report  of  a  Special  Committee  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Philadelphia.  Exhibiting  a  general  view 
of  its  financial  concerns.     Report  adopted  April  12,  18 j2, 

"  With  reference  to  the  Congregational  Schools,  your  committee  have  exam- 
"  ined  the  minutes  of  1826,  and  find,  that  in  May  of  that  year,  the  annual 
"  appointment  of  the    School  Committee  was  suspended,  and  a  Special  Com- 

K 


154  1743- TPIE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

"mittee  of  investigation  appointed,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Jaudon,  Moore, 
**Bevan,  Brown,  and  Lesley,  to  examine  and  report  the  state  of  the  SchooL 
"  In  their  report,  accepted  and  approved  by  the  Board,  June  12,  they  express 
"their  'unanimous  opinion  that  there  should  be  an  entire  and  radical  change 
"  '  in  our  whole  system  respecting  it.'  In  consequence  of  this,  the  Board 
*'  suspended  the  operation  of  the  School  in  its  Congregational  character.  At 
*'  this  time,  there  were  nineteen  children  in  the  School  receiving  gratuitous 
"education,  at  the  expence  of  the  fund.  These,  with  the  pay  scholars  that 
"remained,  were  immediately  placed  under  the  temporary  care  of  the  Rev. 
"  John  L.  Grant,  who  kindly  offered  his  services  gratuitously,  until  a  compe- 
"tent  teacher  could  be  obtained." 

"  The  Committee  subsequently  determined,  that  until  a  more  favourable  oppor- 
"tunity  presented  for  the  re-organization  of  the  Congregational  School,  they 
"would  confine  their  care,  more  immediately,  to  the  instruction  of  our  gratis 
"children;  for  this  purpose  they  entered  into  an  agreement  with  Archibald 
"Mitchell,  a  gentleman  of  standing  as  a  teacher,  to  give  instruction  to  our 
"boys  at  the  rate  of  $16  each,  per  ann.  in  addition  to  the  usual  charges  for 
*'  stationary,  &c.  and  also  with  Mrs.  Robinson,  for  the  instruction  of  the  girls, 
* '  at  the  same  rate.  This  plan  for  the  appropriation  of  the  funds,  has  been 
"  continued  to  the  present  time,  with  but  little  variation.  In  1828  the  Com- 
*'  mittee  found  it  necessaiy  to  adopt  a  resolution,  which  received  the  sanction 
*'  of  the  Board,  requiring  that  the  applicant  for  the  tuition  of  a  child,  or  depen- 
*'  dent,  be  at  least  three  years  a  pewholder,  next  *^receding  the  application, 
"  before  he  could  receive  the  benefit  of  the  fund.  The  present  situation  of 
•'  the  funds  is  exhibited  in  the  report  of  the  Committee,  approved  April  5,  1S32. 
"In  this,  the  C!ommittee  state,  that  'the  balance  on  hand  is  $197  10,  which 
*' '  the  committee  suggest  be  invested,  as  heretofore,  in  stock,  for  the  benefit  of 


1743- THE   OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  I  55 


"  '  the  Congregational  School.'     The  investments  made  from  the  savings  of  th  e 
"fund  since   1827,  'are  — 

"  '  Twenty-six  shares  of  Noiih  Amer.  Insurance  stock,  at  92^  per  ct.,    $240  50 

"'Pennsylvania  5  per  cent.   Loan, 122  80 

"'Which,  with  the  above  balance  of • 197   lo 


"  '  Makes  a  total  of  income  saved  of ^560  40 


" '  Though  the  number  now  on  the  list  is  comparatively  small,  yet  the  com- 
"  '  mittee  believe,  that  the  benefit,  of  the  fund  has  not  been  withheld  from  any 
" '  applicant  justly  entitled  thereto.'  '  The  sources  from  which  the  School  in- 
"  '  come  are  derived  are  the  following  :  — 

" '  Sixty-six  shares  of  North  America  Insurance  stock,  par  value,  .  $    660  00 

"'Pennsylvania  State  Fives, •     .    .    .  122  80 

"'Amount  loaned  to  the  Church  at  six  per  cent., ^>^77  77 

"'And  the  rents  of  the  School  House  back  of  the  Church.'" 

"  The  committee  making  the  above  report  are  Messrs.  Cole,  White,  Hodge, 
"  Macalester  and  Lesley." 

"  A  re-organization  of  the  Congregational  School  in  the  building  back  of  the 
"  Church  is  eminently  deserving  an  early  attention  of  the  Board;  it  might, 
"and  in  all  probability  would  become,  as  in  times  past,  an  auxiliary  to  the 
"  Church,  as  in  it,  strong  attachments  both  to  the  Church  and  its  officers  would 
"  be  formed,  while  by  the  use  of  the  Scriptures  as  a  reading  book,  and  the 
"  catechisms  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  our  youth  would  be  preserved  from 
"the  errors  which  so  much  abound." 


COPIES  OF  EPITAPHS 


IN  THE   OLD   BRICK   BUILDING,  ARCH   AND  THIRD   STREETS. 


"  JIop  sub  marmore  conduntur  Reliquiae 

GILBERTI   TENNENT, 

Hujus  Ecclesise  Pastoris  primi, 

Cujus  maxime  opera 

-(Edes  h?ecce, 

Deo  sacra, 

Ad  summum  perducta  fuerit, 

Patre  Gulielmo  Tennent  oriundus 

Armachae  Hibernorum  natus, 

Nonis  Feb.  MDCCII 

Nova:  Brunsvicae  Pastor  electus, 

MDCCXXV, 

Indidem  Philadelphiam  evocatus, 

MDCCXLIH, 

Obiit   X.   Kal.   Feb.   MDCCLXIV, 

Annum  agens  LXH. 


1743- THE   OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1 876.  I  57 

Vir  fuit  prudens,  consultus  venerabilis, 
Moribus  et  Pietate  spectabilis, 
Conjux,  Frater,  Pater  et  Amicus, 
Inter  pr?estantissimos  : 
Verse  Religionis  Propugnator 
Acerrimus,  doctus,  fidelis,  secundus. 
Et  denique, 

Christianus  sine  fuco  extitit. 

Hoc  Elogio  decorandum 

Curarunt   Ecclesise   Coetus 

Siii   quondam   Auditores." 

[By  President  Finley.] 


"  Here  are  deposited 

The  remains  of 

SAMUEL   FINLEY,  D.   D., 

He  was  born  in  the  County  of  Armagh,  in  Ireland, 

A.  D.  1715: 

Arrived  at  Philadelphia  Sept.  28th,  1734: 

Was  ordained  a  minister  in  1 743  : 

Settled  in  1744,  at  West  Nottingham; 

Where  in  an  academy  which  he  established, 

He  qualified  many  youths  for  future  usefulness. 

He  was  removed  in  July,  1761, 

To  Princeton  in  New  Jersey, 

As  President  of  the  College  there. 


158  1743- — THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 876. 

Was  created  Doctor  in  Divinity  by  the  University 

Of  Glasgow,  in   1763; 

And  died  in  Philadelphia,  July  i6th,  1766. 

In  life  he  was  a  pattern  of  excellence. 

And,  animated  by  the  supporting  consolations 

Of  the  Gospel, 

He  exhibited,  in  death, 

A  bright  Example  of  triumphant  Faith." 

[By  Hon.  Ebenezer  Hazard.] 


"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of 
The    Rev.   JAMES    SPROAT,   D.    D., 

Who  was  born  at 

Scituate  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 

April  nth,  1721,  O.  S. 

Educated  at  the  College  of  Yale, 

Ordained  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 

At  Guilford,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut, 

August  23rd,   1743. 

Translated  to  this  Church 

March  30th,  1769. 

Died  of  the  yellow  fever 

October  i8th,   1793, 

In  the  73rd  year  of  his  age  and  51  of  his  ministry. 


1743- — THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 876.  1 59 


Whatever  is  guileless, 
Candid  and  benevolent, 
In  the  human  Character, 
Was  conspicuous  in  his. 
Amiable  in  domestic  life, 
Fervent  in  Piety, 
Mighty  in  the  Scriptures, 
Powerful  in  Prayer, 
Plain,  practical  and  evangelical 

In  preaching, 
Eminent  in  Tenderness  and  Charity  for  others. 
Humble  in  his  views  of  himself, 
He  was  beloved  and  respectable  as  a  man. 
Useful  and  venerable  as  a  minister  of  Christ." 

[Written  by  Rev.  Ashbel  Green.] 

"  On  a  marble  under  the  pulpit  as  are  also  the  foregoing  epitaphs  of  Tennent 
"and  Finley,  there  are  the  remains  and  a  stone,  with  an  inscription,  but  in 
"  a  situation  not  easily  to  be  read,  of  Rev.  Josiah  Smith,  of  Bermuda,  Cainhoy, 
"and  who. died  in  Philadelphia." 


THE  BURIAL  PLACES  OF  THE 
SECOND  CHURCH. 


MIDDLE  AISLE  OF  CHURCH  AT  THIRD  AND 
ARCH  STREETS. 


The  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  was  buried  *'  with  much  decency 
"  in  the  front  aisle  of  his  own  Church."  "  In  front  of  the 
"pulpit  were  his  body,  with  those  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Finley 
"and  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith.  These  two,  also  buried  there, 
"  were  removed  to  the  burying  ground  in  Arch  street,  above 
"  Fifth,  when  the  Church  was  altered  in  1809,  and  deposited 
"  under  the  west  end.  They  were  placed  in  one  bin,  the 
"  bones  being  on  removal  so  intermingled  as  to  forbid  sep- 
"  aration.  They  were  afterwards  all  removed  by  the  grand- 
"  daughter,  Miss  Elizabeth  Smith,  to  Abingdon,  to  be  interred 
"  alongside   her  mother,   his  daughter.     There   was   also   re- 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1876.        161 


''  moved  to  the  burying  ground  a  marble  on  Dr.  Sproat,  as 
'Mie  was  interred  at  his  death  in  the  ground,  in  1793,  and  not 
'Mnthe  Church."* 

The  tombstones  of  these  Pastors  were  laid  in  the  middle 
aisle  of  the  Church.  Copies  of  the  inscriptions  upon  the 
stones  are  given  in  this  book,  (page  156.) 


BURYING  GROUNDS  IN  ARCH  STREET  AND  IN 
NOBLE  STREET. 


Mr.  Samuel  Hazard,  in  a  communication  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  upon  his  retirement  from  that  Board,  in  1864, 
says : — 

"  The  burying  ground  at  Arch,  above  Fifth,  was  purchased 

^"in  1750,  from  Thomas  Leach  and  others,  fifty  feet  on  Arch 

•  ''  street,  and  three  hundred  and  six  feet  in  depth,  —  of  course 

''running  across  Cherry  street,  which  was  not  then  opened. 

*»Foot  note  in  pencil,  signed  S.  H.,  to  a  funeral  eulogy  in  memory  of  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent, 
preached  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  by  Samuel  Finley,  D,  D.,  1764. 


1 62        1743- — THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 18/6. 

"  When  it  was  opened,  seventeen  feet  were  sold  from  the 
"  burying  ground  for  the  purpose  of  widening  the  street. 
**  Many  years  afterwards  a  strip  of  two  and  a  half  feet  on  the 
*'  western  side  was  purchased  from  Stephen  Kingston.  A 
"  brick  building  was  erected  on  the  north  end  of  the  burying 
**  ground  by  the  congregation.  To  this  building  they  removed 
**  from  the  corner  of  Arch  and  Third  streets,  and  continued 
"to  worship  there  until  the  opening  of  the  Church  in  Seventh 
'*  street.  After  having  been  used  for  some  years  by  schools 
**  and  societies  it  was  finally  sold,  with  nineteen  feet  from  the 
"  burying  ground  lot,  from  which  all  the  dead  were  previously 
*'  removed,  chiefly  with  the  consent  of  friends.  The  com- 
"  mittee  who  attended  to  this  duty  are  all  deceased  but  my- 
"  self  This  burying  ground  has,  therefore,  been  in  use  one 
"  hundred  and  fourteen  (1750 — 1864)  years,  in  which  lie  many 
'*  of  the  great  and  good.  There  is  no  account,  that  I  can  find, 
"  of  their  owning  any  other  burying  ground  prior  to  the  pur- 
"  chase  of  this,  but  as  there  is  a  record  of  part  of  my  grand- 
"  father's  family  being  buried  in  the  ground  attached  to  '  the 
" '  new  building,'  in  Fourth  street,  it  is  probable  that  the 
"  other  members  of  the  congregation,  previous  to  the  pur- 
*'  chase  in  Arch  street,  were  buried  there,  if  not  then  re- 
"  moved.     This  ground  not  being  considered  large  enough 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  1 63 


''  for  the  congregation,  another  lot,  for  the  purpose  of  a  bury- 
"  ino-  o-round,  was  purchased  on  Eighth  street.  This,  being 
''  thought  inconvenient,  was  resold.  Another  burying  ground 
"  was  afterwards  purchased  between  Noble  and  Buttonwood 
'*  streets,  which  is  still  in  use,  from  which,  however,  a  portion 
^'on  Buttonwood  street  has  been  sold,  and  houses  erected 
"thereon,  as  has  since  been  done  on  Noble  street." 

''  (Signed)         "  SAMUEL  HAZARD." 


From  Report  of  a  Special  Cominittee  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  exhibiting  a  general  view  of  the  financial  concerns  of 
the  Church.     Adopted  April  12,  1832. 

"May  8th,  1826.  — Bonds  held  by  individuals  in  the  Church:  — 

"  Alexander  Heniy, ^3,ooo  oo 

"John  Stille,  esq., 3,136  84 

"Mary  W.  Brown, 5 00  00 

«  Catharine  Lesley, 762  00 

"These  bonded  debts  arose  from  the  erection  of  the  Session  House  on 
"  Cherry  street,  and  the  purchase  from  the  First  Church  of  Northern  Liberties 
"of\heir  congregational  right  to  bury  their  dead  in  our  Nol^le  street  ground. 


164        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1 876. 

"  the  limited  size  of  which  rendered  it  necessary  that  we  should  be  in  exclu- 
"  sive  possession  of  the  whole  for  our  own  use.  This  purchase  was  obtained 
"for  the  sum  of  ^1,500." 

"  The  Burial  Grounds  have  received  much  attention  from  the  Board,  in  the 
"  economy  of  ground  used  for  interment,  and  in  the  intelligent  definition  of  the 
"right  of  burial  in  the  Ordinance  of  1827.  Forfeited  spaces  have  been  looked 
"  after  and  used,  and  all  new  graves  ordered  to  be  not  less  than  nine  feet 
"deep,  instead  of  six  or  seven,  as  formerly.  A  substantial  new  fence  has  been 
"placed  ou  the  western  side  of  the  Noble  street  Ground,  but  on  the  eastern 
"  line  a  strong  brick  or  stone  wall  is  needed  almost  immediately,  the  ground 
"  on  the  east  being  opened  as  a  public  street,  and  graded  considerably  lower 
"  than  the  surface  of  the  graveyard.  For  the  erection  of  this  wall  the  Board 
"have  sacredly  pledged  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  all  vault  scites  in  this 
"ground,  and  a  strong  hope  is  indulged  that  the  pew  holders  more  immedi- 
"  ately  interested  in  this  graveyard  will  early  secure  a  family  burial  vault, 
"  especially  as  by  a  late  order  of  the  Board  the  right  of  burial  is  continued  in 
"  the  family  purchasing,  without  regard  to  pew  right  or  church  membership. 
"The  price  of  this  ground  at  present  is  but  $i   25  per  square  foot." 

"  It  is  hoped  that  when  the  sinking  fund  has  accomplished  its  task  of  paying 
"  off  the  entire  debt  of  the  Church,  that  then  the  money  from  the  sale  of  vault 
"scites  in  the  Arch  street  Ground  will  be  applied  to  the  erection  of  brick 
"walls  on  the  east  and  west  side  of  this  yard." 

"THOMAS  LATIMER, 
"ISAAC  SNOWDEN, 
"JOHN  WHITE, 
"PETER  LESLEY, 
''April  1 2th,  1832:'  '' Committee  r 


1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. —  1 876.        1 65 

BURYING  GROUND  IN  MOUNT  VERNON  CEMETERY, 

AND  REMOVALS  FROM  ARCH  STREET  AND  NOBLE  STREET. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  regular  members  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church,  held  February  4,  1867,  authority  was  given 
by  the  congregation  to  sell  the  Burial  Grounds  belonging  to 
the  Corporation,  and  a  Committee  was  especially  appointed 
by-the  Trustees  to  take  the  necessary  steps.  This  Committee 
were  empowered  to  remove  the  dead,  and  any  tombs,  monu- 
ments, etc.,  in  said  Grounds,  to  a  more  suitable  and  perma- 
nent location,  and  to  make  such  removals  at  the  expense  of 
the  Church,  and,  in  all  cases,  making  with  surviving  relatives, 
and  friends  of  those  who  were  interred  therein,  arrangements 
satisfactory  to  them.  The  Report  of  this  Committee  was 
approved  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  read  at  the  Annual 
-Meeting  of  the  regular  members  of  the  Church.  This  shows 
that  removals  from  \h^  Noble  street  Ground  numbered  1,129, 
•adults  and  children,  a  portion  of  which  were  taken  in  charge 
by  the  relatives  and  friends,  and  re-interred  in  other  ceme- 
teries. The  Committee  superintended  the  largest  portion  of 
the  number,  with  one  vault,  three  monuments,  eleven  tombs. 


1 66  1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  8/6. 

and  two  hundred  and  fourteen  head  and  foot  stones,  to  the 
new  burial  plot  of  the  Church  in  Mount  Vernon  Cemetery, 
where  sufficient  ground  for  Church  purposes  had  been 
purchased. 

"The  very  large  number  of  vaults,  tombs,  and  other  im- 
"  provements  in  the  Arch  street  Ground  made  it  necessary  for 
"  your  Committee  to  have  many  interviews  with,  and  consent 
"  of,  the  relatives  of  the  dead  therein,  prior  to  giving  an  order 
"  for  removing  any  from  that  Ground.  The  removals,  under 
"  the  care  of  your  Committee,  from  the  Aixh  street  Ground, 
"comprised  a  total  of  1,479.  Six  new  vaults  and  the  re- 
"  erection  of  one  monument,  fifty  tombs,  one  tablet,  and  two 
"  hundred  and  forty-three  head  and  foot  stones,  to  the  new 
"  burial  plot  at  Mount  Vernon  Cemetery,  as,  also,  the  building 
"  of  five  new  vaults  in  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  and  transferring 
"  thereto  the  remains  formerly  buried  in  the  five  original  vaults 
"  in  Arch  street  Ground." 

"  For  information  in  regard  to  the  transfer  of  the  remains 
"  of  the  dead,  individually,  and  of  families,  the  papers  and 
"books,  prepared  with  much  care  by  your  Committee,  we 
"  believe  will  answer  any  and  all  queries  on  the  subject." 

"  Your  Committee  have  the  satisfaction  to  remark  that,  as 
"  far  as  their  knowledge  extends,  every  family  interested  in 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  1 6/ 

"  the  remains  formerly  in  the  Arch  street  Ground,  as,  also, 
"  those  who  had  interest  in  the  Noble  street  Ground,  (except 
"a  very  few  persons  connected  with  the  Buttonwood  street 
"  Church,)  have  expressed  themselves  perfectly  satisfied  with 
*'  the  transfer  by  us  of  their  dead  to  our  new  Ground,  and  as 
"  also  those  families  who  took  charge  of  their  kin  folk,  and 
"  re-interred  them  in,  and  transferred  their  improvements  into, 
''  other  cemeteries,  and  received  a  money  consideration  or 
"  equivalent  for  their  burial  rights  or  vaults  or  improvements. 
*'  The  new  plot  in  Mount  Vernon  Cemetery  has  been  enclosed 
''  with  a  bronze  rail  and  gate  and  granite  posts." 


CORNER  STONES. 


CORNER  STONE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  SEVENTH 
STREET,  BELOW  ARCH. 


Before  the  corner  stone  was  laid,  the  following  inscription 
was  placed  within  it :  — 

"  The  first  building  for  the  exclu.sive  use  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
"of  Philadelphia  was  erected  at  the  North-west  corner  of  Mulberry  and  Dela- 
"ware  Third  streets,  in  the  year  1750,  and  was  enlarged  in  the  year  1809. 
"In  it  the 

"  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent,  D,  D.,     Rev.  John  N.  Abeel, 
"  Rev.  John  Murray,  Rev.  Jacob  J.  Janeway,  D.  D., 

"Rev.  James  Sproat,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  D.  D, 

"  Rev.  AsHBEL  Green,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Joseph  Sanford,  and 

"  Rev.  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler,  D.  D., 

"  Ministered  successively,  either  as  pastors  or  colleagues.  The  situation  having 
"  become  unsuitable  for  a  place  of  worship,  the  Congregation  have  selected  this 
"in  its  stead;  and  now,  at  their  request. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 


169 


THIS   CORNER   STONE 

OF 

The  Second  Presbyteiian  Church  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia, 


IS    LAID    BY   THE 


Rev.  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler,  D.  D., 

On  the  sixth  day  of  September, 

A.  D.  1836. 

« Andrew  Jackson,  being  President  of  the  U.  S.  of  America. 
"Joseph  Ritner,  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 
"John  Swift,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 
« Rev.  Cornelius  C.  Cuyler,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the  Church. 

"The  Presidency  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  vacant  by  the  death  of  Robert 
"  Ralston. 


"Andrew  Brown, 
Wm.  Boyd, 
Charles  Chauncey, 
Jas.  H.  Cole, 
Jacob  David, 
David  S.  Freeland, 
J.  W.  Gibbs, 
Chambers  Gaw, 

"John  K.  Kane, 
Charles  Chauncey, 


John  V.  Hart, 
John  Harned, 
Sam'I  Hazard, 
A.  G.  Jaudon, 
John  K.  Kane, 
Peter  Lesley, 
David  Mandeville, 
Chas.  Macalester, 

David  S.  Freeland, 
John  Strawbridge, 


Edw.  Smith, 
Robert  Smith, 
John  Strawbridge, 
Robt.  Taylor, 
Benj.  Stille,  and 
Dr.  John  White, 

Trustees.^'' 

Samuel  Hazard, 
Building  Coviviitieey 


I/O        1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876. 

"Wm.  Strickland,  Architect. 

"John  Struthers  &  Son,  Marble  Masons. 

"Henry  Little,  Carpenter. 

"A.  &  E.  Robbins,  Bricklayers. 

"Peter  Prizer,  Stone  Mason." 

"*Here  will  I  dwell,  for  I  have  desired  it,'     Ps.  cxxxii.   14. 

"  *  In  all  places  where  I  record  my  name,  I  will  come  unto  thee,  and  I  will 
"'bless  thee,'     Ex.  xx,  24. 

"'Establish  Thou  the  work  of  our  hands  upon  us.'     Ps.  xc.   17. 

" '  Save  now,  I  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord :  O  Lord,  I  beseech  Thee,  send  now 
"'prosperity.'     Ps.  cxviii.  25." 


*'  Within  the  stone  are  also  deposited  copies  of 

"  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
"  The  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 
"  The  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States. 
"The  Psalm  Book  of  the  same. 

"The    Charters  of  the    Second    Presbyterian    Church  in  the    City  of   Phila- 
"  delphia. 

"The  Philadelphia  Directory  for  1835-1836. 
"  Dr.  Green's  Address  at  the  interment  of  Robert  Ralston. 
"Dr.  Cuylcr's  sermon  on  the  death  of  Robert  Ralston. 
"'The  Presbyterian,'  of  the  3rd  September,   1836. 


I743-— THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW.  — 1876.        I/I 


"'The  Philadelphia  Observer,'  of  the  ist  September,  1836. 

"The  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 

1836. 

"The  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  same,   18^6." 


'J   ^"j'^ 


After  the  corner  stone  had  been  laid  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cuyler,  an  address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green, 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Wm.  J.  Gibson,  and  after  the 
company  assembled  had  sung  the  132nd  Psalm,  the  apostol- 
ical benediction  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  P.  J.  Sparrow. 


CORNER  STONE  OF  CHURCH  TWENTY-FIRST  AND 
WALNUT  STREETS. 


The  corner  stone  of  the  Church  at  Twenty-first  and  Walnut 

^"   streets  was  laid  June  21,  1869,  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the 

building.     The  services  were  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

A, stage  was  provided  with  benches  for  the  ladies,  and  a  like 

-  stage  with  chairs  for  the  gentlemen.    The  Rev.  Albert  Barnes, 


1/2        1743- — THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1 8/6. 

of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  made  the  opening  prayer. 
Dr.  Matthew  B.  Grier  read  the  132nd  Psalm,  and  i  Cor.,  iii.  : 
9,  23.  The  499th  hymn  was  sung.  Dr.  Musgrave  made  an 
address.  Mr.  Theodore  Cuyler  then  gave  a  history  of  the 
contents  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Church  in  Seventh  street, 
which  were  removed  in  a  dilapidated  state.  These  and  the 
new  documents  were  then  enclosed  in  a  glass  vase  made  for 
the  purpose.     The  new  documents  were  as  follows  :  — 

A  book  of  portraits,  containing  :  — 

An  engraved  portrait  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  with  his  autograph,  written  for  this  purpose. 

An  engraved  portrait  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  Col.  John  W.  Geary,  with  autograph,  written 
for  this  purpose. 

Photographic  likeness  of  the  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, Hon.  Daniel  M.  Fox,  with  autograph,  written  for  this 
purpose. 

The  pastors  of  the  Church  :  — 

1.  The  portrait  of  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  engraved. 

2.  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent,  engraved,  and  autograph  sermon. 

3.  Rev.  John  Murray,  engraved. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876.  1 73 


4.  Rev.  James  Sproat,  engraved,  autograph. 

5.  Rev.  Ashbel  Green,  engraved,  autograph. 

6.  Rev.  J.  N.  Abeel,  photograph,  with  autograph. 

7.  Rev.  Jacob  J.  Janeway,  engraved,  autograph. 

8.  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  engraved,  autograph. 

9.  Rev.  Joseph  Sanford,  engraved,  autograph. 

10.  Rev.  CorneHus  C.  Cuyler,  engraved,  autograph. 

11.  Rev.  Charles  W.  Shields,  photograph,  with  autograph, 

12.  Rev.  Elias  R.  Beadle,  photograph,  with  autograph. 

There  were  also  in  the  corner  stone  as  many  of  the  MS. 
sermons  of  the  pastors  as  could  be  obtained,  one  of  them 
being  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent's.  There  were  deposited  speci- 
mens of  the  postal  currency  as  follows:  —  5  cent  note,  10 
cent  note,  25  cent  note,  50  cent  note,  a  copy  of  the  "  Presby- 
**terian"  newspaper  of  the  last  preceding  issue,  and  of  the 
"New. York  Observer."  A  picture  of  the  old  Church  was 
also  put  in.  A  Sunday-school  scholar  gave  two  pennies,  and 
a  sewing  woman  deposited  a  dime  in  the  stone.  There  were 
also  accounts  of  the  meeting  of  the  two  late  General  Assem- 
blies. Besides  the  bottle  containing  these  things  there  were 
two  pieces  of  plate  glass,  on  which  were  engraved,  by  fluoric 
acid,  the  following  :  — 


1/4  1743- -^'^E    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 

FIRST    I'Lu^TE. 

"  When  time  shall  have  crumbled  to  dust  the  stately  walls  which  rise  above 
**this  Corner  Stone,  or  through  other  agencies  it  shall  come  again  to  human 
"  sight,  an  event  not  likely  to  occur  until  those  who  place  it  here,  and  gen- 
"erations  long  succeeding  them,  shall  have  returned  to  dust,  this  Tablet  will 
**  reveal  the  fact  that  on  the  twenty-first  day  of  the  month  of  June,  in  the  year 
<'of  Grace  MDCCCLXIX  the  Congregation  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
**in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  trusting  only  in  that  Divine  Grace  which  has 
"  rested  upon  this  Church  for  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  years,  did  place 
''this  Corner  Stone  in  the  foundation  of  their  new  Church  edifice  at  the  South- 
"  east  corner  of  Walnut  street  and  Twenty-first  street,  having  removed  it  from 
"beneath  their  former  edifice  in  Seventh  street,  south  of  Arch  street." 

SECOISTD    Fr^ATE. 

**  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 

Founded  A.  D.  1743. 

Pastor.  — Rax.  E.  R.  Beadle,  D.  D. 
Puling  Elder.  —  Thomas  M.  Freeland. 

BOARD    OF   TRUSTEES. 

President.  — Theodore   Cuyler. 

Vice-President.  —  William  C.  Morgan. 

Secretary.  —  James  D.  Kyd. 

Treasurer.  —  George  W.  Hall. 


1743- THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW. 1  876. 


175 


Edward  S.  Clarke, 
Uriah  W.  Stokes, 
R.  Case  Clarke, 
Charles  F.  Haseltine, 
Wm.  R.  McAdam, 
M.  S.  Stokes, 
William  Gallaher, 


Thomas  M.  Freeland, 
Richard  Chambers, 
Alexander  Lesley, 
John  F.  Taggart, 
Pearson  Yard, 
James  M.  Earle, 
Samuel  L.  Taylor, 


H.  Lenox  Hodge,  M.  D., 
Furman  Sheppard, 
N.  L.  Hatfield, 
Jas.  H.  Bi-iscoe, 
Adrian  S.  Clark. 


BUILDING    COMMITTEE. 

Hugh  L.  Hodge,  M.  D.,       The  Pastor,  ex-qfficioy        Alex.  Lesley, 

Charles  F.  Haseltine,  Theodore  Cuyler,  U.  W.  Stokes,  Treasurer. 

H.  Lenox  Hodge,  M.  D., 

Architect.  —  Henry  A.  Sims. 
Superintendent. — John  McClure. 
Builder.  —  William  Armstrong, 
Glass  Stainers  and  Engra-oers. — J.  &  G.  H.  Gibson." 


The  bottle  and  these  glass  plates  were  placed  in  the  excava- 
tion of  the  old  corner  stone,  and  plaster  of  Paris  was  then 
poured  around  them  and  allowed  to  harden.  Over  this  was 
deposited  a  slab  of  marble,  and  the  whole  covered  with  a 
bfock  of  excavated  granite. 


1/6 


1743- THE   OLD   AND   THE    NEW. —  1 876. 


When  all  was  in  place,  the  usual  ceremony  of  knocking  the 
stone  with  the  mallet  was  performed  by  the  Pastor,  Rev.  Dr. 
Elias  R.  Beadle.  After  this  the  Rev.  Dr.  Humphrey,  of  Cal- 
vary Church,  offered  prayer,  and  the  services  closed  with  the 
benediction  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  De  Witt,  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  of  New  York. 


ORIGINAL  SUBSCRIPTION 

FOR  LOT  AND  CHURCH  AT  WALNUT  AND  TWENTY- 
FIRST  STREETS. 


Copy  of  the  original  Subscription  list. 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  do  engage  to  pay  the  sums  affixed  to  our  names  on  or 
"about  May  8,  1868,  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  near  Twenty-first  and  Walnut 
"streets,  and  towards  the  erection  of  a  new  place  of  public  worship,  and  to 
"  donate  the  same  to  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia." 

"  Philadelphia,  April  21,  1868:' 

(Signed) 

Hugh  L.  Hodge, ;J5 10,000  00  Paid  in  full. 

Alexander  Lesley, 1,000  00              " 

Anna  G.  Hubbell,    - 1,000  00              " 

Miss  Hubbell, 100  00              " 


1/8  1743- THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1  876. 

INIiss  Lina  Hubbell, $     100  00  Paid  in  full. 

Mrs.  Oswald  Thompson, 250  00  " 

Stephen  H.  Brooke, 1,000  00  " 

Miss  Caroline  T.  Cuyler, 100  00  " 

Mrs.  Joel  Jones, 500  00  " 


Charles  Haseltine, 


H.  Lenox  Hodge, 


Mrs.  H.  Lenox  Hodge, 

U.  W.   Stokes, 

Mr.  Kimball, 

Mr.  Theodore  Cuyler, 

The  Misses  Freeman, 

Mr.   R.  Case  Clark, 

Thomas  Brown, 

Miss  Elizabeth  Chauncey, 

Miss  H.  C.  Ralston, , 50  00 


Tobepaid  in 
instalments 

5,000 

00- 

within  loy'rs 
of  which 
^^1,000  paid. 

^Tobepaid  in 
instalments 

5,000 

00- 

within  lOy'rs 

of  which 

^$4,800  paid. 

1,200 

00 

Paid  in  full. 

500 

00 

« 

150 

00 

(( 

2,500 

00 

(( 

141 

00 

« 

300 

00 

(( 

100 

00 

(( 

1,000 

00 

(( 

1743- THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 1  876.        I79 

George  W.  Childs, ^1,000  00    Paid  in  full. 

Miss  Olmstead, So  00  " 

Mr.  C.  Cuyler  Campbell, 50  00  " 

Miss  Rowland, lo  00  " 

Mr.  W.  Dwight  Bell, 250  00  « 

Mr.  James  Bayard, 250  00  " 

Judge  Porter, 500  00  " 

Miss  Holland, ^ 200  00  " 

Miss  Gwyneth, 5  00  " 

Mrs.  C.  C.  Cuyler, 1 00  00  " 

Miss  H.  R.  Earp, 100  00  " 

Miss  Massey, 20  00  " 

Miss  Cole, 5  00  " 

Mr.  Edward  S.  Clarke, 500  00  " 

Mrs.  Francis  E.  Koons, 1 00  00  " 

Mrs.  Stephen  Colwell, lOO  00  " 

Miss  L.  Harriet, 25  00  " 

H.  A  Mariner, 5  75  " 

Cash  (per  H.  A.  Mariner), 4  25  " 

Miss  Agnes  Reynolds, 5  00  " 


i8o 


1743. THE   OLD   AND   THE   NEW. 1 876. 


Mr.  &  Mrs.  Wm.  Gallaher,    .    .    . 

Mrs.  Ilarmer, .    .    . 

Miss   Burkhart, 

Dr.  Edward  Peace, 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Smith  and  daughters, 
Mr.  William  Alex.  Smith,  .    .    .    . 

Miss   Mary  Rice, 

Mr.  H.  W.  Pitkin, 

Mr.  C.  E.  Claghorn, 

Mrs.  Mayfield, 

M.  Baird  &  Co., 

Miss  J.  S.  Woolsey, 


250 

00  Paid  in 

50 

00      " 

5 

00      " 

100 

00      " 

50 

00      " 

100 

00       " 

25 

00      " 

300 

00      " 

250 

00      " 

50 

00      " 

100 

00       " 

100 

00      " 

full. 


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